Words in italics are not in the Greek text. We believe
that they are implicit.

(This translation is for someone who translates the Bible into
his own language. People may be able to use this to make translations into
their national languages. And then, you can use such translations to translate
into your own language.

This translation is clear and it explains itself fully. We have
added some words to make the meaning clear. We write these words in italic[1]
writing. You may not need to translate all the words that are in italics. But
some people may not know much about the Bible. Or there may not yet be
Christian churches in their area. Then the italic words could help such people
to understand the full meaning of a sentence. In any particular language, you
may need to use the right words to connect sentences.)

Acts 1:1-11 Jesus passes on his work to his *disciples and goes up into
*heaven

v1My dear Theophilus. Many people think well of
you. I have already written one book for you about Jesus the
*Christ. I wrote about many of the things that Jesus did and taught. v2I told you about everything that happened. This includes the day on
which God took him up into *heaven. Jesus gave orders to the
*apostles whom he had chosen. There were many things that he wanted them to
know. The *Holy Spirit helped him say those things. Then Jesus went up
to *heaven.

v3 Jesus had suffered and died on the *cross. Then
he had become alive again. And he allowed the *apostles to see him many
times during a period of 40 days. In this way, Jesus proved to
them in many ways that he was alive again. He talked with them about
how God rules. He rules the lives of people who accept him as
their king.

v4 While Jesus was still with the *apostles, he
told them this: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem city yet. My Father has promised
that he will send his Spirit to you. So, wait here until he does
this. You have heard me speak to you about that’, Jesus said. v5
‘John caused people to enter the water when he *baptised them. Something
different will happen in a few days’ time. God will cause the *Holy
Spirit to enter you and change you completely.’

v6 One day, the *apostles met together with
Jesus. They asked him this question: ‘*Lord, King David was the
man who ruled us *Israeli people long ago. Will you now become our
king like he was?’ Jesus replied, ‘You do not need to know the time periods and
days when that will happen. v7 Only my Father will decide when
he will make me king’, Jesus said.

v8 ‘But instead the *Holy Spirit will give you
inner strength when he comes to you. Then you will be able to tell
people about me in Jerusalem and wherever you go. You will go all over the
Judea district and Samaria district. And you will also go to
places far away all over the world’, Jesus said. v9 Then God took
Jesus up towards *heaven while they were watching. Jesus went
up into a cloud and they could not see him any more.

v10 They were still staring towards the sky as Jesus
was going up. Then suddenly two men who were wearing white
clothes stood near them. They were *angels. v11 Then the two
men said this to the *apostles: ‘You men from Galilee district, do
not stand here any longer just looking up at the sky. Some day, Jesus
will come back to the world. He will be the same Jesus whom God took
from you up to *heaven. And this Jesus will return to the world
the same as he went up to *heaven.’

v12 Olive Hill was about one kilometre away from
Jerusalem. The two *angels left. Then the *apostles also left Olive Hill
and they returned to Jerusalem. v13 When they got there, they went to an
upstairs room. Many *believers were living there. Peter and John were
there. James, Andrew, Philip and Thomas were there. Bartholomew, Matthew
and another James, the son of Alphaeus, were there. And Simon the *Zealot
and Judas the son of another man called James were also there.

v14 All these *apostles continued to pray together.
The women who had helped Jesus also prayed with them. Jesus’ mother,
Mary, and his younger brothers were also there.

v15 One day a group of about 120 of Jesus’ people had
gathered there. Then Peter stood up to speak to his *brother *believers.
v16-17 ‘My *brothers’, he said, ‘long ago King David wrote about
Judas in the *Scriptures. The *Holy Spirit told David what to write. And
so, David wrote what would happen to Judas. The *Holy Spirit knew that
Judas would do what he did. Now, Jesus chose Judas, together with the
other 11 of us, to work as an *apostle. But Judas guided the people
who arrested Jesus’, Peter said.

v18 The *Jewish leaders had given money to Judas so
that he would help them arrest Jesus. Then Judas bought a field with the
money that the leaders had given to him. And he hanged himself there. He
fell down hard, face down. His body burst open, and all that was
inside him spilled out. v19 Everybody who was living in Jerusalem
heard about that. So people called that field Akeldama in their own *Jewish
language. This name means ‘a field where someone’s blood was
spilt’.

v20 Peter continued to speak: ‘This had to happen, because
long ago David wrote about Judas in the book of Psalms: “*Judge
him, *Lord, so that neither he nor anyone else may live in his
house!” David also wrote this about Judas: “Let someone else take up his
work as an *apostle” ’, Peter said.

v21 ‘Therefore we *apostles must choose a man to
replace Judas. This man must have been with us all the time when the *Lord
Jesus was with us. v22 He must have been there when John
*baptised Jesus. And he must have still been there when God took
Jesus from us up to *heaven. He must have seen Jesus alive again after
he had died.’ Peter finished speaking.

v23 So the *apostles and other *believers suggested
the names of two men who qualified. One man was Joseph Barsabbas who also
had the *Roman name Justus. And the other man was Matthias. v24
Then they prayed together like this: ‘*Lord Jesus, you know what
everyone in the world is like. Please show us which of these two men you
have chosen. v25 Then he can replace Judas and serve you as an
*apostle’, they said. ‘Judas has stopped being an *apostle. He has
died and has gone to the place of punishment. That is the place
where he deserved to be.’

v26 Then they took names out of a pot to choose between
the two men. The name that they chose was Matthias. So they accepted
Matthias as an *apostle together with the other 11 *apostles.

Acts 2:1-13 The *Holy Spirit first comes to the *believers

v1 The *Jews were enjoying their special day called *Pentecost.
And the *believers were all together in one place in Jerusalem city. v2
Suddenly the *believers heard a noise that was coming from the
sky. It sounded like a strong wind that was blowing. The noise sounded
all through the whole house where they were sitting. v3 Then they saw what
was like flames of fire. These flames separated themselves from each
other, and one of them came down on each of the *believers’ heads. v4
Then the *Holy Spirit took complete control of all the *believers. The *Holy
Spirit helped them to speak other languages which they had not learned.

v5 At that time many *Jews were staying in
Jerusalem for the special day of Pentecost. They had come from many
different countries. They were people who always tried to obey the
*Jewish *laws. v6 They also had heard that loud noise that
was like a wind. So then a crowd came together at the place where the
*believers were. Those many foreign people did not know what to think. Each
of them could hear the *believers speak in that person’s own language.

v7 So this greatly astonished them. They were saying to
each other, ‘All these people who are speaking different languages have
always lived in Galilee district. So they would not be able to speak
our languages.v8But each one of us hears that they are doing
exactly that!

v9 Some of us have come from the regions of Parthia
and Media and Elam. Other people live in Mesopotamia, Judea and
Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia. v10 Other people have come from
Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt and the regions in Libya that are near Cyrene city.
v11 Other people among us who are visiting Jerusalem have
come from Rome. They include actual *Jews as well as *non-Jews. These
*non-Jews have accepted what the *Jews believe. Also, other people among us are
from Crete island and from the region of Arabia. However,
those followers of *Christ are speaking in our languages! And they are
telling about the great things which God has done!’

v12 So this astonished all those people. And they
did not know what to think. They asked each other, ‘What does this mean?’ v13
But some other people laughed at those who believed the message about
Jesus. They said, ‘These people are talking like this because they
have drunk too much wine.’

Acts 2:14-40 Peter speaks to the crowd about Jesus

v14 Then Peter stood up with the other 11 *apostles.
And he spoke out aloud to the huge crowd. This is what he said: ‘My *brother
*Jews and all of you other visitors who are staying in Jerusalem: Listen
to me and I will explain all of this to you. v15 These people here are
not drunk like you think. It is only 9 in the morning, and
people here never get drunk at this time of the day!’ Peter said. v16
‘No, what has happened to us is something else. It is a great thing
that only God could do.

The *prophet Joel wrote about this long ago. Joel wrote down
God’s own words: v17 “During the final days before I bring
judgement on all people, I will give my Spirit generously to people everywhere”,
God says. “Your sons and daughters will give people messages from
me. And I will make your young men see what will happen in the future. I
will give your old men special dreams”, God says.

v18 “During those days I will give my Spirit generously
to men and women who do my work. And they will be able to tell people messages
from me. v19 I will cause wonderful things to happen in the sky,
and I will do *miracles in this world. These things will show people that
I am powerful”, God says.

“I will cause wars in the world. And people will
kill other people, and they will spill their blood on the ground. And
there will be fire and thick, dark smoke”, God says. v20 “People will
see that the sun in the sky is dark. They will see that the moon is red
like blood. One day, I the *Lord God will come to bring judgement on
everyone. It will be an important and splendid day, and all these things
will happen before then. v21 Then I the *Lord will rescue everyone
who asks me.” This was what the *prophet Joel wrote.’

v22 Peter continued, ‘My *Israeli *brothers, listen
to me! Jesus came from the town called Nazareth. He lived with you in
your country. And God proved to you that he had sent Jesus. He let
Jesus do many wonderful things. And those things showed that he was from
God. You yourselves know that this is true’, Peter said. v23
‘God had already decided what he would do. And he knew that someone would
put this man, Jesus into your hands. Then people who do not obey God’s
*law killed him. They did that by fastening him up on a *cross with
nails’, he said. v24 ‘Jesus suffered very much when he died. But
God did not let him remain dead. People had buried Jesus in the
ground. But Jesus could not stay there in his grave. So, after he
had died, he became alive again. And God did that’, Peter said.

v25 ‘Long ago King David wrote what Jesus the
*Messiah would say:

“I always see that the *Lord God is near me”, the
*Messiah says. “He is close by my side. So I will not fear people who
want to hurt me. v26 Because of that I praise you, God. I am
really happy! Also, I am completely confident that you will make my
body become alive again.

v27 You will not allow my *spirit to remain in the place
where dead people lie”, the *Messiah says. “I have given my life to you and
I always obey you. And so, you will not let my body become nothing. v28
You have told me that you will make my body live again. You will
make me very happy because you will be with me always”, wrote David.’

v29 Peter spoke boldly: ‘My *brother *Jews, I can
tell you confidently that our royal *ancestor, King David, did die. People
buried his body. And people still know even today where those
people buried his body long ago’, Peter said. v30 ‘Now, David was
also a *prophet. The words that he spoke were not about himself. He
was speaking about the *Messiah. David knew that God had made him a firm
promise. In later years, one of David’s family would become king like David
was king then’, Peter said.

v31 ‘God had let David know what God would
do before the time. So David was able to say that God would
make the *Messiah live again. He had died. But David said that God would
not let his *Messiah remain dead. Nor would God let his *Messiah’s body
become nothing’, Peter said.

v32 ‘After this man Jesus had died, God
made him become alive again. Jesus will now live for all time. All of us
*believers have seen and know that Jesus has become alive again’,
Peter said. v33 ‘God has made Jesus sit and rule close by
his side in *heaven. In this way, God has given Jesus great honour. And
God his Father has given him the *Holy Spirit, the same as he had
promised. Now Jesus has generously given us the *Holy Spirit
also. This is what you are seeing and hearing now.

v34 David did not go up into *heaven as Jesus did. So
we know that David was speaking about the *Messiah. He was not
speaking about himself when he said this:

“The *Lord God said this to my *Lord the *Messiah: “Sit
down here by my side and rule my people. v35 Then I will
completely defeat your enemies.” ’

v36 Peter finished by saying this: ‘Therefore, I
want you and all other *Jewish people to know this certainly.
God has made Jesus become both our *Lord and his *Messiah. But you
now, you are the ones who killed Jesus on a *cross.’

v37 When the people heard what Peter said, they
felt very guilty. So they asked Peter and the other *apostles:
‘*Brothers, what should we do so that God will not blame us for our *sins?’

v38 Peter answered them: ‘Each of you should turn
back to God from your *sinful ways. Then we will *baptise you, if you
now believe Jesus *Christ. Then God will give the *Holy Spirit to
you. v39 God has promised to do that for you and your
families in later years. He will also do it for all other people. He
will do it even for those who live far away from here. The *Lord our God
will give his Spirit to everyone whom he invites to become his
people.’

v40 Peter told them much more and spoke even
more strongly. He urged them: ‘God will certainly punish the evil
people of this present time. So, ask God to rescue you from that
punishment.’

Acts 2:41-47 How the first *believers lived

v41 So the older *believers *baptised the people
who believed Peter’s *message. And about 3000 people joined the group
of *believers that day. v42 Those new *believers continued to
obey what the *apostles taught them. They also continued to meet
together with the other *believers. They ate meals together to
remember the *Lord’s last Supper. And they continued to pray together.

v43 The *apostles often did many kinds of *miraculous
things. So, many of the people in Jerusalem city gave God great honour.
v44 All of those who believed Jesus’ *message were united.
They often met together. They had the habit of sharing everything
that they had with each other. v45 There were some among the
*believers who needed food or clothes. So, occasionally one of the other
believers would sell some of their land or their possessions. And
then they would give them some of the money from what they had sold.

v46 Every day they continued to meet together in the
*temple area. They also ate together and remembered the *Lord’s
Supper in their own houses. They gladly and generously shared their food with
each other then. v47 In all of this, they were always praising
God. And many other people in Jerusalem were thinking favourably
towards them. As these things were happening, the *Lord Jesus continued
to add other people to their group. These were people whom God was
saving from the effects of *sin.

Acts 3:1-10 Peter and John heal a man who had never walked

v1 One afternoon at 3, Peter and John were going to
the *temple area. It was the hour when people prayed publicly
in the *temple. v2 There was a man there who had never been
able to walk. He had never been able to walk from the time that he was
born. This man was sitting by a gate of the *temple area, which
people called the Beautiful Gate. His friends put him there every
day, because people entered or left the *temple through that gate.
Then the man could ask the people to help him with some money.

v3 Peter and John were entering the *temple area. The
man who could not walk saw them. He asked them several times to give
him some money. v4 Peter and John looked straight at him, and Peter
said, ‘Look up at us!’ v5 So the man looked up at them. He was expecting
that they would give him some money. v6 But Peter said to him, ‘I
do not have any money. But what I can do I will now do for you.
Jesus *Christ from Nazareth town has given me authority to heal you!
So, get up and walk!’ v7 Then Peter took hold of his right
hand and helped him to stand up. Immediately the man’s feet and ankles became
strong. v8 He jumped up on his feet and he began to walk! Then he walked
into the *temple area with them. He was jumping and praising God all
the time!

v9 All the people there saw the man walking and
praising God. v10 They recognised him as the man who used to sit at the
Beautiful Gate of the *temple. He would sit there and ask people for money! So
what had happened to him greatly surprised the people. They could not
understand it at all.

Acts 3:11-26 Peter says that it was Jesus who healed the man

v11 The man who had never walked before hung on
firmly to Peter and John. And all the people there were extremely
surprised. They all rushed to where the *apostles were. This was the place in
the *temple area which people called Solomon’s *Porch.

v12 When Peter saw this, he spoke to them, ‘*Brother
*Israelis, stop staring at us! You should not be so surprised about what has
happened to this man!’ Peter said. ‘You seem to think that we ourselves
are powerful. And so we two were able to make this man walk. Or perhaps you
think that we please God so much! Therefore God healed him because
of us. Well, it was not because of us that this man was able to walk.

v13 It was God who did it’, Peter said. ‘Our *ancestors,
including Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, *worshipped God. And Jesus has always been
God’s servant. So now God has given great honour to Jesus by causing him to
live again. Your leaders took Jesus to governor Pilate so
that his soldiers would kill him. Pilate had decided to free him. But
then you *rejected Jesus as your king in front of Pilate.

v14 Jesus always did what was right [OR fair and
good], but you would not accept him. And you urged Pilate that he
would allow someone else to go free in his place. You wanted a man who
had killed people. v15 Jesus gives people the *life that never ends. You
killed him. But God caused him to become alive again after he had died. Many of
us saw Jesus after he became alive again. And now we are telling you about
what he has done’, Peter said.

v16 ‘You see and know this man here. This man believed
that Jesus could heal him. That is why Jesus made him strong
again. Yes, because he trusted Jesus, Jesus completely healed him. And all of
you saw this.

v17 Now, my *Israeli *brothers, I know that you and your
leaders did not know that Jesus was the *Messiah. v18 However,
God had spoken a long time before about what the people would do to
Jesus the *Messiah. All the *prophets said that God’s *Messiah
would suffer and die. And God let you do exactly that to Jesus.

v19 So, confess to God that you did wrong. Then
turn back to God so that he may completely excuse you for your *sins. v20
If you do that, then God’s time will come. The *Lord God will give you new
strength. He will again send to this world the *Messiah whom he
has chosen for you. He is Jesus, the one whom God chose to save and to rule
you.

v21 But first, God will make new everything that he has
created. Jesus must stay in *heaven until that time. Long ago God promised to
do that. And he chose loyal *prophets to tell that *message to
people.

v22 The *prophet Moses said this about the
*Messiah: “The *Lord your God will choose someone to be a *prophet. He will
tell you words from God”, Moses said. “God will send him to this world as
he sent me. And this *prophet will be from your own people. You must
listen to everything that he tells you. And you must obey him”, he said. v23
“Anyone who does not listen to this *prophet will no longer be one of
God’s people. God will kill him.” ’

v24 Peter continued, ‘Also Samuel and all the
other *prophets spoke long ago about what is happening in these days.
v25 You as well as we are the people to whom God sent the
*Messiah. And God strongly promised to look after you. This is the
same promise that God made to our *ancestors long ago. God said to
Abraham, “One of your people who will be born much later will do
something wonderful. I will bless all people in the world because of what
he does.” ’

v26 Peter ended what he was saying: ‘So God sent to
this world the person who always obeys him. And God sent him first to you *Israeli
people to do good things for you. This person, *Christ, will help
each of you to stop doing what is wicked.’

Acts 4:1-22 The *Jewish *Council try to stop Peter and John’s work

v1 Peter and John were still speaking to the people in
the *temple area. Then some other people arrived. There were some
priests, and the officer who was in command of the *temple police. Also
there were some members of the *Sadducee party. v2 These men
were very angry, because the two *apostles were teaching the people about
Jesus. They were telling them that God had made Jesus become
alive again. And God would also make people who have died become
alive again.

v3 So those officials arrested Peter and John. And
since it was already evening, they had to stay in prison until the next day.
v4 But many people had already believed the *message about Jesus,
because they had heard it from Peter. So now about 5000 people had
believed the *message about Jesus.

v5 The next day, the high priest called together the
other members of the *Jewish *Council. They were: the other chief
priests, and the teachers of the *Jewish *laws. They gathered
together in the *Council room in Jerusalem. v6 Among those
leaders were Annas, who was the high priest. Caiaphas was also a leader. The
leaders also included a man called John, Alexander and other relatives of
the high priest.

v7 They ordered the guards to bring Peter and John
in to the *Council. Then one of the leaders asked them both many
questions. ‘Who made you able to heal this man? [OR, who gave you
authority to do this?]’ they asked.

v8 The *Holy Spirit completely controlled Peter as he
replied: ‘I am speaking to you, my *brother *Israelis who rule us and to
all of you other older leaders. Please listen to what I have to say. v9
You are asking us questions today about something good that we did. We helped
a man who had never been able to walk. And you ask us how his legs became
well again.

v10 We want you and all our other *Israeli
*brothers to know this: It is because Jesus *Christ from Nazareth healed him.
That is why this man is able to stand in front of you now. You people fastened
Jesus up on a *cross to die. But God made him become alive again’, Peter
said. v11 ‘The *prophets wrote this about the *Messiah in the
*Scriptures:

“He is like a certain large piece of stone. The people who
were making the building threw it away.

But now it has become the most important stone in that
building.”

Jesus is that stone and you are those builders. And
you threw away the stone that was the most important one. v12
God has sent only one person to the whole world to rescue us. And he can
rescue us from the effects of our *sins. Only Jesus can do this’, Peter
said.

v13 The *Jewish leaders realised that Peter and
John were not afraid of them. The two men were ordinary people who had
not studied in schools. The leaders knew that and they were astonished.
They realised that these men had been with Jesus for some time. v14
Also, they saw the man whom God had healed. He was standing there
with the two *apostles. So those leaders were not able to say
anything against Peter and John.

v15 So the *Jewish leaders ordered guards to
take Peter, John, and the man outside of the room. After they had
left, the leaders talked with each other about Peter and John. v16
‘There is really no way by which we can punish these two men!’
they said. ‘These men have done a definite *miracle. Everyone living in
Jerusalem knows that. We cannot tell people that it did not happen.

v17 However, we must not allow other people to hear
about this *miracle. So we must say this to these men: They must never
tell any other people about this person called Jesus. If they do, we will
punish them severely.’ v18 So the *Jewish leaders ordered guards
to bring the two *apostles into the room again. Then they ordered
them both that they should never teach anyone about Jesus again.

v19 But Peter and John replied, ‘It is not right that
we should obey you. If we do that, we may not obey God. So you do
what you think. v20 But as for us, we two cannot obey you about
this. We will not stop telling people about Jesus. We have seen him do many
things. And we have heard him when he was teaching.’

v21-22 The *Jewish leaders could not decide how to
punish them. So they again said this to Peter and John: They would
punish them if they did not obey. And then they let them go free. The
leaders knew that they could not punish the *apostles. Very many people had
seen the *miracle that had healed the man. And they were praising God
about that. So they would become angry if the leaders did punish the *apostles.The man had never walked before, and he was more than 40 years old.

Acts 4:23-31 Peter and John return to the group of *believers

v23 After the leaders had freed Peter and John, they both
went back to the other *believers. They reported all that the chief priests
and other older men had said to them.

v24 The *believers listened to all that the two
*apostles said. Then they all prayed together to God. This was
what they said: ‘Oh *Lord God, our Master! You made the sky, the earth, the
seas and everything in them. v25 Our *ancestor, King David, was a
loyal servant of yours. And your *Holy Spirit caused him to write
these words:

“We do not know why the nations of the world are so angry
against you, our God. The *Jewish people made hopeless plans against
you, and the *non-Jews were very angry with you.

v26 The kings of the world prepared to fight you. And
the other leaders made agreements with them to oppose you, our
*Lord God. They were also against the person whom you appointed to
be the *Messiah.”

v27 And we know that what you said long ago was true’,
they continued to pray. ‘King Herod and governor Pontius Pilate met
together here in Jerusalem city. They met with *Jewish and
*non-Jewish people. They had decided to kill Jesus. Jesus always loyally
served you, and you chose him to be the *Messiah’, they said. v28
‘You are so powerful and wise. So they did only what you allowed them to
do. And you decided long ago that this would happen.’

v29 ‘So now, *Lord’, they prayed. ‘Listen to what those
evil people say. They say that they will punish us! We want to serve you loyally.
So please help us to speak very boldly the *message about Jesus! v30
Show us how great your power is! We pray that we will be able to heal
people and to do other *miraculous things for you. We pray that many people
will see these *miracles. Then they may believe Jesus, who always loyally
served you.’

v31 The *believers finished praying. Then something
shook the place where they were meeting. And the *Holy Spirit took complete
control of all of them. And they continued to speak boldly the words that God told
them.

Acts 4:32–5:11 The *believers use their property in a different manner

v32 The group of people who believed Jesus’ *message
were all united. They thought the same and wanted the same things. None of them
claimed that their property was only their own. Instead, they shared
everything that they had with each other. v33 The *apostles continued to
tell other people about Jesus in a very powerful way. They told how God had
made the *Lord Jesus become alive again. God in his unlimited goodness was
helping all the *believers. v34 None of the *believers were lacking
anything that they needed. Some of them owned land or houses. And they
would occasionally sell some of their property. v35
Then they would bring to the *apostles the money that people had paid them.
The *apostles used that money to help other *believers. They
helped those who had a real need.

v36For example, there was Joseph. He was born on
Cyprus islandinto the family group of Levi. The *apostles called
him Barnabas. In the *Jewish language this name means a person who
always encourages other people. v37 Joseph sold a field, which he owned.
He received some money when he sold the field. Then he took the money to
the *apostles.[2]

Chapter 5 v1 But there was a man from among the
*believers whose name was Ananias. His wife’s name was Sapphira. They
sold some land that belonged to them. v2 They kept some of the
money from the sale for themselves. And his wife knew about this. Then
Ananias took the rest of the money and he brought it to the *apostles.[3]

v3 Then Peter spoke to him: ‘Ananias’, he said, ‘*Satan has
persuaded you to lie to the *Holy Spirit and to us. You have kept for
yourself some of the money that you received from the sale. And you have
pretended that you are giving all of it to us. v4 Before you sold
that land, you really owned it. And even after you sold it, the money was still
yours’, Peter said.

‘You should never have done this wicked thing. You did not
merely tell us lies! No, you tried to lie to God himself!’ v5
Ananias heard that, and immediately he fell down dead. A lot of people
heard about how Ananias died. They became very afraid. v6 Then some
young men came forward and wrapped his body in a sheet. They carried
the body out and buried it.

v7 About three hours after Ananias had died, his
wife came into the house. She did not know that her husband had died.
v8 Peter showed her the money that Ananias had brought. Then
he asked her, ‘Tell me! You sold some land? Is this the amount of
money that you two received?’ ‘Yes’, she said, ‘that is what we received
for the land.’

v9 Then Peter said to her: ‘You both did a terrible
thing! You agreed to try to lie to God’s *Holy Spirit! Listen! You can
hear the footsteps of the men who buried your husband. They are coming to
the door. They will carry your dead body out to bury it also!’ v10
Immediately Sapphira fell down dead at Peter’s feet. Then the young men came
back in. They saw that she had died also. So they carried her body out.
And they buried it at the side of her husband’s body.

v11 So all the *believers in Jerusalem were very
afraid because of what God had done to Ananias and Sapphira. Also, everyone
else who heard about it became very afraid.

Acts 5:12-16 God helps the *apostles to do some unusual things

v12 The *apostles were doing many wonderful *miracles
among the people in the city. And God was helping them. All the
*believers were meeting together regularly in the *temple area. They met
at the place called Solomon’s *Porch. v13 But there were other
people who had not yet believed Jesus’ *Message. Those people were
afraid to join with the *believers. However, people continued greatly to
respect the *believers. v14 But many more men and women started to
believe the *Lord Jesus. And they joined the group of *believers.

v15 The *apostles were doing wonderful *miracles.
People were bringing all their sick people. They laid them on beds and mats
in the streets where Peter might walk. They hoped that Peter would touch the
sick people. Or at least they hoped that his shadow would heal some of
them. v16 Very many people were also coming to the *apostles from
the towns near Jerusalem. Those people were bringing their sick relatives or
friends. They also brought those to whom *evil spirits were causing
trouble. And God healed all of them.

Acts 5:17-42 The *Council was causing the *apostles much trouble

v17 The high priest and the other *Jewish leaders in
Jerusalem were members of the *Sadducee group. Many people were
believing the *apostles’ *message, and the members of the *Council
became very jealous of them. v18 So they told the *temple
police to arrest the *apostles. They put them in the public prison.

v19 But during the night the *Lord God sent an
*angel. The *angel opened the prison doors and brought the *apostles out. And the
guards were not aware that the *angel had freed the *apostles. v20
Then the *angel told the *apostles: ‘Go to the *temple area. Stand there
and tell the people all about this new *life’, he said. v21
So they went straight to the *temple area before sunrise, and they began
again to teach the people about Jesus.

Meanwhile, the high priest and his men called together the other
*Jewish *Council members. Together they made up the entire *Council of *Israel.
They immediately sent guards to the prison to bring the *apostles
to them. v22 The guards arrived at the prison. But they
discovered that the *apostles were not there.

So they returned to the *Council and reported: v23 ‘We
found that the prison doors were very well locked’, they said. ‘Also,
the guards were standing at the doors. So we opened the doors and we went in
to get those men. But then we saw that there was no one there
inside the prison’, the guards said. v24 The captain of the *temple guards
and the chief priests heard what the guards said. This report
greatly confused them. They wondered what might result from this.

v25 Then someone came there from the *temple area and
excitedly reported: ‘Listen to this! At this moment, the men that
you put in prison are standing in the *temple. They are teaching the people about
Jesus!’ v26 So the captain of the *temple guards and some
of the guards went to the *temple. They rearrested the *apostles, and
they took them to the *Council room. But the guards were afraid of the
people. So they did not act badly against the *apostles. The people
might throw stones at them if they hurt the *apostles.

v27 The captain and his officers took the
*apostles to the *Council room. They ordered them to stand in front of the
*Council members. Then the high priest asked them questions. v28 He accused
them: ‘We strongly ordered you not to teach people about this man
Jesus!’ the high priest said. ‘But you have not obeyed us, and you
have taught people all over Jerusalem about him! In addition to
this, you are trying to make us guilty of the death of this man!’

v29 Peter replied to them. He was speaking for himself and
the other *apostles. ‘We must obey what God tells us to do. We do
not just obey what you people tell us to do!’ Peter said. v30
‘You fastened Jesus to a *cross to kill him! But God caused Jesus to
become alive again after he had died. And he is the same God whom our
*ancestors *worshipped. v31 God has given great honour to Jesus’, Peter said.
‘God took Jesus up to *heaven to be there with him. And then God gave
him authority to rule people. God also made Jesus the person who can rescue
people from the effects of *sin. In this way God helps us *Israeli
people to turn away from our *sins. Then God can excuse us for all
the wrong things that we have done’, Peter said. v32 ‘We are telling
people all that we know about Jesus. And God has sent the *Holy Spirit
to us who obey him. The *Holy Spirit also tells people that
these things are true.’

v33 The *Council members heard what Peter said.
Then they became very angry with the *apostles. They wanted to kill them
immediately.v34 But there was a *Council member called
Gamaliel. He was a *Pharisee, and he also taught people the *Jewish
*law. All the *Jewish people greatly respected him. He stood up
in the *Council. He ordered the guards to take the *apostles out
of the *Council room for a short time. v35 Then he said to the
other *Council members:

‘*Brother *Israelis, think carefully before you do anything to
these men’, Gamaliel said. v36 ‘You should be very careful what you
do. Not long ago there was a man here whose name was Theudas. He
told people that he was an important person. He took up arms against the
*Romans, and about 400 men joined his group. But the soldiers killed
him, and they scattered all his followers. So Theudas’s group were
not able to do anything more.’

Gamaliel continued: v37 ‘Later, officials were
registering the names of people in order to tax them. Then a man
called Judas from Galilee district took up arms against the
*Romans. He also persuaded a lot of other people to fight against the
*Romans. But the soldiers killed him also, and they scattered all
his followers.

v38 So now I say this to you about these men who
believe Jesus’, Gamaliel said. ‘Do not hurt these men! Instead, let them
go free! What these men want to do may just be a human plan. Then they
will fail, exactly like Theudas and Judas did! v39 However, God may have
ordered these men to tell people about Jesus. Then you will not be
able to stop them doing it. You may actually find that you are opposing
God!’

v40 Then the other members of the *Council agreed
with what Gamaliel said. They told the *temple guards to bring the *apostles
into the *Council room again. Then the soldiers whipped them. The
*Council members ordered them never to speak again to people about Jesus.
Then the *Council freed the *apostles.

v41 So the *apostles left the *Council. They were
very happy. They had suffered because they believed Jesus. They knew that
God had given them special honour. He had allowed people to cause
them shame. v42 Every day the *apostles went to the *temple area
and to different people’s houses. They continued to teach people Jesus’
good *message. They told people that Jesus is the *Messiah.

Acts 6:1-7 The *apostles appoint seven men to look after practical service
in the church

v1 During that time, many more people were becoming
*believers in Jesus. There were some *believers who spoke only the Greek
language. They began to complain about those who spoke the *Jewish
language, Hebrew. Each day, the *apostles used to distribute food
or money to widows who needed help. The *Greek *believers complained
that their widows did not receive fair amounts from the *Hebrew *believers.

v2 The 12 *apostles heard what those *Greek *believers
were saying. So they called together all the other *believers in
Jerusalem, and they spoke to them: ‘We could stop teaching God’s
*message about Jesus. Then we could distribute food and money to the
widows. But that would not be right. v3 So, my *brother *believers, you
should choose carefully seven men from among yourselves. They must be
people whom God’s Spirit controls completely. They must have much practical wisdom.
Then we will appoint them to take care of this work. v4 And we *apostles
can then continue to pray to God, and to teach the *message about
Jesus.’

v5 All the other *believers liked what the
*apostles proposed. So first of all they chose Stephen. He was a man who
strongly believed God. And the *Holy Spirit controlled him completely. They
also chose Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, who was
from Antioch city. Nicolas had accepted the *Jewish religion before
he had believed Jesus’ *message. v6 The other *believers brought
these seven men to the *apostles. The *apostles prayed that God would
help those men. Then the *apostles put their hands on the men’s heads to
appoint them to that work.

v7 So the *believers continued to tell many people
God’s *message. The number of people in Jerusalem who believed Jesus’
*message was increasing greatly. Among those people very many *Jewish
priests were believing the *message about Jesus.

Acts 6:8-15 The *Jewish leaders arrest Stephen

v8 God was giving Stephen special power to do many
things. Stephen was able to do many wonderful *miracles among the people in
Jerusalem.

v9 However, some people opposed Stephen. They were
*Jews from a group of people who used to be slaves. They met together in a
place which people called the Freedmen’s Meeting Place. They were *Jews
from the Cyrene and Alexandria cities. Other *Jews from Cilicia
and Asia *provinces joined in with them. All these people began to argue
with Stephen. v10 But they were not able to deny what he said. The
*Holy Spirit helped him to speak very wisely.

v11 Then those *Jews secretly persuaded some people to
accuse Stephen falsely. ‘We heard him say bad things about Moses and about
God’, they said. v12 So in that way they made the other
*Jewish people angry. The older *Jewish leaders and the teachers of
the *Jewish *law were also angry. Then all of them seized Stephen and
they took him to the *Jewish *Council.

v13 They also brought in some other people who
spoke falsely about him. Those people said: ‘That man Stephen is always
saying bad things about the *temple which our people set apart for God. He
also talks against the *law which Moses received from God. v14
And we have heard Stephen say other things. He talked about what this
Jesus from Nazareth town taught. Jesus said that he would destroy this
*temple. Moses taught the people before us how we *Jews ought to live. But
Jesus said we would have to change all that. This is what Stephen is
saying’, those *Jews falsely said.

v15 All the people in the *Council room heard
what the *Jews said. Then they all stared at Stephen’s face. His
face was shining like the face of an *angel shines.

Acts 7:1-53 Stephen’s speech

v1 Then the high priest asked Stephen, ‘Is what these
people say about you really true?’

v2 Stephen replied to him and to the other *Jewish
leaders: ‘My *brother *Jews and leaders respected by our people, please listen
to me. Our *ancestor Abraham was still living in the Mesopotamia region,
before he moved to Haran town. That was when the great God whom
we *worship appeared to him.’

v3 ‘God spoke to Abraham: “Leave this country where you
and your relatives are living. And go to the country to which I will
lead you”, God said. v4 So Abraham left that country which people
also called Chaldea. He arrived in Haran town and he lived there.
Later, his father died. Then God told him to move again. This time he
arrived in this country where you and I are now living’, Stephen
said.

v5 ‘At that time God did not give Abraham any land
here. God did not give him even a small piece of this country that
would belong to him. But God did promise that he would later give this
country to him. It would also belong to the people who would be born
after him. God said that the country would always belong to them.
However, Abraham did not yet have any children to receive the country
later.’

v6 Stephen continued to speak: ‘Later, God told
Abraham, “The people who will be born after you will live in a different
country for some time. That country belongs to other people. For 400
years, your people will be those other people’s slaves. Your people will
have to work very hard, and nobody will give them wages. They will
suffer very much because of those other people.” v7 But God also
said: “I will punish the people for whom they will work as slaves. Then,
after that, your people will leave that country. They will come back
here and they will *worship me in this country.”

v8 Then God told Abraham that someone should *circumcise
him. Also, he had to *circumcise every male in his house and family and
his slaves. This was to show that they all belonged to God.
And they would obey God’s order to Abraham. Later Abraham’s son, Isaac, was
born. And when Isaac was 8 days old, Abraham *circumcised him. Many years
later Isaac’s son, Jacob, was born, and Isaac *circumcised him in the
same way. Still later Jacob also *circumcised his 12 sons. And these
12 men began the family of all of us who are *Jews’, Stephen said.

v9 ‘It was even later, when Jacob’s sons had
grown up. Jacob’s older sons had become jealous of Jacob’s
younger son, Joseph. So they sold him to merchants, who took him to
Egypt. There, Joseph became a slave of an *Egyptian official. But God helped
Joseph. v10 God rescued Joseph whenever people made him suffer. God
caused him to be wise. And God caused Pharaoh, the *Egyptian king to
think well of Joseph. So Pharaoh appointed him as governor of the people of Egypt.
Joseph also had to look after all of Pharaoh’s property’, Stephen said.

v11 ‘While Joseph was the governor, the people
began to suffer greatly. There was very little food in all of Egypt and Canaan.
People did not have enough food to eat. In Canaan, Jacob and his sons
also could not find enough food. v12 But Jacob heard people
say that they could buy grain in Egypt. So he sent Joseph's older
brothers, our own people, to Egypt to buy grain. The first time that
they went and bought grain from Joseph, they did not recognise him. They
returned home.’

v13 Stephen continued: ‘When Joseph’s brothers went
to Egypt the second time, they again bought grain from Joseph. But this time
Joseph told his brothers who he was. Also, people told Pharaoh that
Joseph’s brothers were *Israelis who had come from Canaan. v14
Then Joseph sent his brothers back home. They told their father Jacob what
Joseph had said. Joseph wanted their father and the entire family to
come to Egypt. At that time, there were 75 people in Jacob’s family. v15
So when Jacob heard Joseph’s message, he and all his family went to
live in Egypt.’

‘Later on, Jacob died there in Egypt. His sons also
died there. v16 When our people left Egypt they brought the bodies
of these important *ancestors back to Shechem city. They buried these
bodies in the grave which Abraham had bought from Hamor’s sons’, Stephen
said.

v17 ‘God had promised Abraham that he would
rescue our people. And the time had come for God to do this. Meanwhile, there
were very many of our people in Egypt. v18 Then another *Egyptian
king began to rule the people in Egypt. He did not know how Joseph,
long before that time, had greatly helped the people of Egypt. v19
That king tried to destroy our *ancestors with great cruelty. He caused them to
suffer greatly. He even ordered them to leave their babies outside their
homes. He wanted the *Israeli babies to die.’

v20 Stephen continued to speak: ‘During that time,
Moses was born, and he was a very beautiful child. His parents hid him in their
house and they looked after him for three months. v21 Then they had to
put him outside the house, but they hid him. Pharaoh’s daughter found
him and she adopted him. She looked after him completely like he
was her own son. v22 The *Egyptian teachers taught Moses
everything that the people in Egypt knew. And Moses became a strong man and he
spoke in a powerful manner.’

v23 ‘Moses was about 40 years old. He wanted to help his
own people, the *Israeli people. So, one day, Moses went to the place where
they worked, to visit them. v24 He saw an *Egyptian man who was hitting
one of the *Israelis. So Moses went over to help the *Israeli man whom
the *Egyptian was hitting. And it happened that Moses killed the *Egyptian.
v25 Moses was thinking that God had sent him to his *brother *Israelis.
He had to free them from being slaves. And he thought that perhaps his
*brother *Israelis would understand that. But they did not understand’,
Stephen said.

v26 ‘The next day, Moses saw two *Israeli men who were
fighting each other. He tried to stop them fighting. He spoke to
them, “Men, you are *brother *Israelis! So stop hurting each other!”
v27 But the man who was attacking the other man pushed Moses away. He
said to Moses, “No one appointed you to rule us. No one told you to
be our judge! v28 Do you want to kill me like you killed that *Egyptian
man yesterday?” v29 Moses heard what the man said. And he became
afraid. Many people must know what he had done. So he ran away from
Egypt to Midian country. He lived there for some years. He got
married, and he and his wife had two sons.’

v30 Stephen continued: ‘One day, 40 years later,
Moses was in the desert near Sinai mountain. At that moment an *angel from
the *Lord God appeared [OR, the *Lord God appeared as an
*angel] to him. There was a bush there. It was in flames, but it was
not burning up. v31 When Moses saw that, he was greatly surprised.
He went over to the bush to look at it better.’

‘Then he heard the *Lord God speak to him: v32
“I am the God whom all the *Israeli people before you used to *worship.
Yes, I am the God that your *ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
*worshipped”, God said. Moses was so afraid that he began to
shake. He was afraid to look at the bush any longer’, Stephen said.

v33 ‘Then the *Lord God spoke to Moses. “Take the
*sandals off your feet because you respect me. I am here. And the place
where you are standing is very special to me”, God said. v34 “I
have certainly seen how the *Egyptian people are hurting my people. And I have
heard when my people cry for help”, God said. “So I have come down and I
have appeared to you. I want you to rescue them from the *Egyptian
people. Now get ready. I will send you back to Egypt to help
them.” ’

v35 Stephen continued: ‘This Moses tried to help
our *Israeli people, but they *rejected him. They said: “No one
appointed you to rule us. No one told you to be our judge!” But God himself
sent Moses to rule the *Israelis. He also freed them from being slaves.
God’s *angel had spoken to Moses from the bush that was on fire. v36
Moses is the man who long ago led our people out from Egypt. He did many
kinds of *miracles in Egypt. And he also did other *miracles at the Red Sea and
in the desert. And the *Israeli people lived in those desert regions for
40 years.’

v37 ‘It was Moses who told the *Israeli people: “God will
appoint a *prophet for you from among your own people. He will speak words
from God, as I speak his words to you.” v38 Moses was our
people’s leader when they gathered together in the desert. God sent his
*angel to Moses on Sinai mountain to tell him our *laws. And Moses
told our *ancestors what the *angel had said. Moses received from
God’s *angel words about the *life that will never end. And Moses passed
those words on to us’, Stephen said.

v39 ‘However, our *ancestors did not want to obey
Moses. v40 So while he was on Sinai mountain, they spoke to his
older brother, Aaron. “Make some images for us which will be our gods. We
want them to lead us back to Egypt!” they said to Aaron. “As for
that man, Moses who led us out of Egypt, something must have happened to him!”

v41 So, during those days they made an image out
of gold, which was exactly like a young cow. Then they offered *sacrifices and
other things to give honour to that image. They sang and danced. They gave
honour to the image that they themselves had made. v42 But God
refused to accept those people’s *worship. So God went away from them.
He left them to *worship the sun, moon and stars in the sky. This agrees with
God’s words that the *prophets wrote down:

“You *Israeli people, you were in the desert for 40 years.
You constantly killed animals and offered them as *sacrifices. But you most
certainly did not offer them to me”, God said. v43 “You did quite
the opposite, you carried a certain tent with you from place to
place. That tent contained the image of the god Moloch that you
*worshipped. You also carried with you the image of the star which
people called Rephan.

These were images that you yourselves had made. And
you *worshipped those images instead of me”, God said. “So I will cause
other people to take you away from your own country. They will take you
far away from your homes to regions further than the Babylon region.” ’

v44 Stephen continued, ‘While our *ancestors were
in the desert, they *worshipped God in a special tent. This tent
showed that God was there with them. They had made the tent as God had told
Moses. Moses had seen a model when he was up on the mountain.The
tent was exactly like that model. v45 Later on, our
*ancestors received that tent from their fathers. They took the tent
with them when Joshua led them into this country. That was when they
took this country for themselves. And God forced the people to leave who had
lived there before them. So the *Israelis were able to completely possess
the country.’

‘The tent remained in this country until the time when King
David ruled. v46 God was very pleased with David. And David asked
God to let him build a house for him. This house would be where David and all
of our *Israeli people could *worship God. v47But God did not allow
David to do that.Instead God allowed David’s son, Solomon to build
that house.’

v48 Stephen continued: ‘However, we know that God
is greater than everything. People make houses in which to *worship God. But
God does not live in houses that people make. God said the same things
and the *prophet Isaiah wrote them down. Isaiah wrote:

v49 “Heaven is the place from which I rule everything. The
world is merely a step on which I may rest my feet. So you human
people really cannot build any house that would be suitable for me.
You can not make a place great enough for me to live in. v50 I myself
have made everything in the sky and on the earth.” ’

v51 ‘You people are extremely unwilling to listen’, Stephen
said. ‘You do not want to obey or listen to God! You are absolutely
like the people who lived before you! You always oppose the *Holy Spirit as
they did! v52 The people who lived before you caused every *prophet to suffer.
They killed all the *prophets who long ago had announced about the
*Messiah. The *Messiah always does what pleases God, and he has come.
And you have just handed him over to his enemies to kill him!
v53 You people received the *Law which God gave our
*ancestors. God sent his *angels to deliver that *Law to our *ancestors.
Then they gave the *Law to us. However, you still do not obey it at all!’

Acts 7:54-8:1 The people kill Stephen by throwing stones at him

v54 The *Jewish *Council members and other people there
heard all that Stephen said. Then they became very angry with
him. They were actually rubbing their teeth together because they
were so angry with him!

v55 But the *Holy Spirit completely controlled Stephen. He
looked up into *heaven and he saw a bright light from God. Also, he saw Jesus
standing at God’s side. v56 ‘Look’, he said, ‘I can see *heaven open. He
who became a man is standing at God’s side!’

v57 The *Jewish *Council members and other people heard
that. So they shouted loudly. And they put their hands over their ears so
they could not hear him. They all rushed at him at once. v58
They dragged him outside Jerusalem city. Then they threw stones at him to
kill him. The people who were accusing him took off their outer
clothes. They put their clothes on the ground next to a young man
whose name was Saul. Those people had to be the first to throw the stones. v59
While people continued to throw stones at Stephen, Stephen prayed: ‘*Lord
Jesus, receive my *spirit!’

v60 Then Stephen knelt down and cried out aloud: ‘*Lord,
do not punish them [OR, *Lord, please excuse them] for this *sin!’ And after he
had said that, he died. Chapter 8 v1-2 Then some men who really believed
the *Lord Jesus buried Stephen‘s body in a grave. And for a long time
they shouted loudly. They were so sad because Stephen had died.

On that same day, people started to do a lot of bad things
to the *believers in Jerusalem city. So most of the *believers ran
away to other places all over Judea and Samaria districts. The
*apostles were the only *believers who remained in Jerusalem. v3
Saul was the young man who had approved that people should throw stones at
Stephen. So now Saul also began to try to destroy the groups of
*believers. He went into people’s houses one by one. And he dragged away
any men and women who believed Jesus. Then Saul caused people to put
them into prison.

Acts 8:4-25 Philip opposes Simon, the man who did magic in Samaria

v4 The *believers who had left Jerusalem went to many
different places. They continued to tell people the good *Message about
the *Lord Jesus.

v5 Philip was one of the seven *believers whom the
*apostles chose to help them. Now, Philip went to a city in Samaria district.
He was telling the people there that Jesus is the *Messiah. v6
And many people there heard Philip speak. They also saw the *miraculous
things which he was doing. They all listened very well to the words that Philip
spoke.

v7 *Evil spirits controlled many people. And Philip
ordered the *evil spirits to come out of those people. And those *spirits did
come out of them, with loud cries and screams. Also, there were many *paralysed
people and other people, who were not able to walk. They became well because
God healed them by Philip. v8 So, many people in that city
were very happy.

v9 But there was a man in Samaria city whose name
was Simon. He had been doing magic for a long time. And what he did had
astonished many people in Samaria district. He always said that he was a
great person. v10 All the people there, both ordinary people and
important people, listened to him carefully. Some of them said, ‘This
man has lots of power because God has given him a *spirit of power.’ v11
For a long time he had astonished them by doing magic. So people continued to
listen to him.

v12 But Philip taught them very clearly that they
should believe that Jesus the *Messiah is powerful. And then God
would rule the lives of those people who believed the good *message. Then
Philip *baptised both the men and the women who had believed Jesus. v13
Simon himself believed what Philip said. Then Philip *baptised
him, and he began to go round everywhere with Philip. Simon often saw Philip
do many kinds of *miraculous things. And he was greatly astonished.

v14 The *apostles in Jerusalem heard reports about the
people in the Samaria district. People said that many people
there had believed the *message from God about Jesus. So they sent Peter
and John to them. v15 Peter and John arrived in Samaria.
Immediately they prayed that God would send the *Holy Spirit to those new
*believers. v16 They realised that the *Holy Spirit had not
yet begun to control any of them. Philip had *baptised them because
they had believed the *Lord Jesus’ *message. But they did not yet know
about the *Holy Spirit. v17 Then Peter and John placed their hands
on the heads of each person. Immediately the *Holy Spirit began
to control their lives.

v18 Simon saw the *apostles place their hands on
people. That convinced him that this was the way that God gave his *Holy
Spirit to people. So he offered to give money to the *apostles. v19
Simon said to them: ‘Please help me also to do what you are doing. Then
everyone on whom I place my hands may receive the *Holy Spirit’s power.’ v20
But Peter replied: ‘I pray that you and your money will go to *hell! Only
God can give his *Holy Spirit to people. You think that you could buy God’s
*Holy Spirit from us. You are very wrong!’ Peter said. v21
‘You cannot have any share with us in this work which we are doing.
Because what you are thinking is completely wrong to God.’

v22 ‘Therefore’, Peter said, ‘stop thinking such evil thoughts.
And now, you intended to do many wrong things. You must ask the
*Lord that he will excuse you for that!’ v23 ‘Turn away from
your *sin. I can see that you are extremely jealous of us. You are
always wanting to do evil, and that desire holds you firmly like
in a prison!’ v24 Then Simon answered, ‘Pray to the *Lord God for
me. Do not let him do to me anything which you two have spoken
about!’

v25 Peter and John told people there the *Message about
the *Lord Jesus, and then they both returned to Jerusalem. Along the way
they told the *Message about Jesus to people in many villages in
Samaria.

Acts 8:26-40 Philip talks to a government official from Ethiopia country

v26 One day, an *angel whom the *Lord God had
sent gave this command to Philip: ‘Get ready and go south along the road
from Jerusalem city to Gaza town. That road passes through an
area where very few people live.’ v27 So Philip got ready and he went along
that road. Next moment, he met a man from Ethiopia in a fast horse cart.
There was a queen called Candace who ruled Ethiopia country.
And this man was an important official who took care of all her funds.

This man had gone to Jerusalem to *worship God. v28
He was on his way home and he was sitting in his fast horse cart. Someone
else was driving the cart. But this man was reading aloud from what
the *prophet Isaiah had written long ago.

v29 The *Holy Spirit told Philip: ‘Go over to that
horse cart! Speak to the man who is travelling in it.’ v30 So
Philip ran up close to the horse cart. He heard the official as he was
reading the book of the *prophet Isaiah. So he asked the man: ‘Do
you understand the words that you are reading?’ v31 The man
answered Philip: ‘No! I cannot possibly understand these words
unless someone explains them to me.’

Then the official from Ethiopia invited Philip to get into the
horse cart. Philip sat down next to him. v32 The part of the
*Scriptures which the official was reading was this:

‘People lead a sheep off to kill it. In the same way,
people will lead him away to kill him.

A young sheep is quiet when someone cuts off its wool.

And in the same way, this man will not complain when
people cause him to suffer.

v33 People will insult him. They will not
let the rulers give him a fair judgement.

No one will be able to talk about his children.

People will kill him before he can have any human
children.’[4]

v34 The official asked Philip about the passage: ‘Tell
me, who was the *prophet writing about? Was the *prophet writing about
himself or about someone else?’ v35 So Philip explained that
*Scripture passage to him and he told him the good news about Jesus. So the
official understood and believed Jesus’ *Message.

v36 They were still travelling along the road. They came
to a place where there was some water near the road. Then the
official from Ethiopia said to Philip: ‘Look, there is a pool of
water here! Please *baptise me, if it is all right to do that?’v37 [Philip said to him, ‘If you really believe Jesus’ *Message, I
will *baptise you.’ The official answered Philip: ‘I believe that Jesus
is the *Messiah. And I believe that he is also the *Son of God.’][5]

v38 So the official ordered the driver to stop the
cart. Then both Philip and the official got out and went down into the
water. And Philip *baptised him. v39 When they came out of the
water, in one moment the *Holy Spirit took Philip away to another
place. The official continued along the road. He never saw Philip again,
but he was very happy deep inside himself.

v40 Philip realised that the Spirit had *miraculously
taken him to Azotus town. So he travelled through all the towns between
Azotus and Caesarea. And he continued to tell in public the *Message about
Jesus as he travelled. And he was still telling this *Message to people when
he arrived in Caesarea city.

Acts 9:1-19a Saul becomes a *believer

v1 Meanwhile Saul continued to be very angry. He went
everywhere and he was saying: ‘I will kill those who obey Jesus as the
*Lord.’ He went to the high priest in Jerusalem. v2 Saul asked
him to write letters. He wanted the high priest to introduce him to
the *synagogue leaders in Damascus. Saul wanted to arrest any
*believers that he found in that city. It did not matter whether they were men
or women. It only mattered whether they believed the *Way of Jesus.
Then Saul would arrest them and take them to Jerusalem by force. The
*Jewish leaders would be their judges and they would punish them.

v3 Saul and those with him came to Damascus city
on their journey. Then, in one moment a bright light from *heaven
shone all about him. v4 Immediately Saul fell to the ground. Then
he heard the voice of the *Lord who was speaking to him: ‘Saul, Saul, you
are hurting those who believe my words! Stop making me suffer.’ v5
Saul asked him: ‘*Lord, who are you?’ He replied: ‘I am Jesus, and
you are making me suffer. You are hurting those who believe me. v6
Now stop hurting them. Stand up and go into the city! Someone there will
tell you what I want you to do’, said the voice.

v7 The men who were travelling with Saul could not
say anything. They had become so frightened that they just stood there.
They had only heard the sound when the *Lord spoke. They did not see who
was speaking. v8 Saul got up from the ground. But when he opened his
eyes, he could not see anything. So the men with him grasped his hand
and they led him into Damascus. v9 For three whole days Saul
could not see anything. He did not eat anything and he did not
drink anything.

v10 In Damascus there was a *Jew who believed Jesus’
*Message. His name was Ananias. The *Lord Jesus spoke to Ananias in a
dream. ‘Ananias!’ the *Lord said. Ananias replied, ‘*Lord, I am listening.’

v11 So the *Lord Jesus said this to him: ‘Go to the
house that belongs to Judas on Straight Street. There is a man there called
Saul, from the city called Tarsus. Ask someone there if you can talk to
Saul. He is staying there and he is at this moment praying to me. v12
Saul has had a dream. And in this dream, he saw you, Ananias. You
were entering the house where he was staying. And you put your hands on
him so that he could see again’, the *Lord said to Ananias.

v13 However, Ananias protested: ‘My *Lord, many people
have told me about this man. He has done many evil things to the people in
Jerusalem who believe your *Message. v14 And the chief priests
have given him authority to come here to Damascus. He wants to arrest
all the people who believe your *Message. Then he will take them to
prison in Jerusalem.’

v15 But the *Lord Jesus told Ananias: ‘Go and
meet Saul! I have chosen him to serve me. He will speak about me to
*non-Jewish people and to their kings. He will speak to the *Israeli
people. v16 I myself will show him that he must often suffer greatly because
of me.’

v17 So Ananias went. He found the house where
Saul was staying. He went into the house and he met Saul. He put his
hands on Saul’s shoulders and he said: ‘*Brother Saul, the *Lord Jesus himself
told me to come to you. He appeared to you while you were travelling
on the way here. He sent me to you so that you could see again. Then the
*Holy Spirit can come to you and completely control you’, Ananias said. v18
Immediately, some things that felt like the pieces on the side of a
fish fell from Saul’s eyes. He was able to see again. He stood up, and Ananias
*baptised him. v19 Then Saul ate some food, and he
recovered his strength.

Acts 9:19b-31 Saul talks about the *Lord in Damascus and in Jerusalem

Saul stayed with the other *believers in Damascus. He was
there for several days. v20 Immediately he began to speak to people about
Jesus in the *Jewish meeting places there. He told them that Jesus is
the *Son of God. v21 And all the people who heard him speak were
astonished. Several of them were saying, ‘This man killed many people in
Jerusalem who believe Jesus. He cannot be the same person’, they said. ‘And
he has come here to take *believers to prison in Jerusalem. He is working for
the chief priests.’ v22 But God helped Saul to speak in a
way that would convince even more people. He was proving from *Scripture
that Jesus really is the *Messiah. So the *Jews in Damascus city could
not say that this was not true.

v23 Later, some of those *Jews plotted to kill him[6]. v24
However, someone told Saul what those *Jews intended to do. Each
day and each night the *Jews were watching the people as they passed through
the city gates. They hoped to kill Saulwhen they saw him. v25
Saul told about this to those whom he had helped to believe Jesus. So,
one night they took him to the high stone wall that surrounded the
city. There was an opening in the upper wall there. They put Saul
into a large basket. Then they used *ropes to lower this basket
through the opening in the wall. And so Saul escaped from Damascus.

v26 When Saul arrived at Jerusalem, he tried to join the
other *believers. However, almost all of them were still afraid that
he would arrest them. They did not yet believe that he had become a true *believer.
v27 But Barnabas took Saul to the *apostles, and he explained to
them about him. He told them what had happened to Saul on the road to
Damascus. Saul had seen the *Lord Jesus, and the *Lord had spoken to
him there. Barnabas also told them how Saul had not been afraid
in Damascus. He boldly spoke to people about Jesus. The *apostles
believed Barnabas and they told the other *believers about Saul. v28
So Saul began to join the *apostles and other *believers all through
Jerusalem city. He was not afraid to speak to everyone about the *Lord
Jesus.

v29 Saul also spoke about Jesus with the
*Jews who spoke the Greek language. He had some long discussions with them. But
they were thinking how they could kill him. v30 The other *believers
knew that people were making plans to kill him. So some of the
*believers took Saul to Caesarea city. And there they arranged
for him to go by ship to Tarsus port.

v31 So, the groups of *believers in all the regions of Judea,
Galilee and Samaria were able to live at peace. No one was hurting them at
that time. The *Holy Spirit made them strong in their belief and he
encouraged them. They continued to give honour to the *Lord Jesus.
And the *Holy Spirit caused many other people to become *believers.

Acts 9:32-43 Aeneas and Dorcas

v32 Peter travelled all through the regions called Judea
and Samaria. He also went to the coast to visit the *believers in
Lydda town. v33 He met a man there whose name was Aeneas. Aeneas
had not been able to get up from his bed for 8 years, because he
was *paralysed. v34 So Peter spoke to him: ‘Aeneas, Jesus *Christ heals
you this moment. Get up and roll up your mat!’ Immediately Aeneas stood
up. v35 Many people saw Aeneas after the *Lord had healed him. They
also believed about the *Lord Jesus. They were people who lived in Lydda
town and the rest of Sharon plain.

v36 In Joppa city there was a woman *believer whose
name was Tabitha. Her name in the Greek language was Dorcas. Both of
these names mean an animal called deer or gazelle or antelope. That
woman was always doing good things for other people. She especially helped
poor people. She gave them things that they needed. v37 Then one
day, Dorcas became ill and she died. The women there washed
her body. They were following *Jewish custom. Then they covered the
body with a cloth. They placed it in an upstairs room in her house. At
that time, Peter was in Lydda.

v38 Lydda town was near Joppa. The *believers in
Joppa heard that Peter was there. So they sent two men to go to
Peter. They arrived there and they met Peter. They asked him many times:
‘Please come immediately with us to Joppa!’ v39 So immediately
Peter got ready and he went to Joppa with them. They arrived at
the house in Joppa. Dorcas’s body was lying in the upstairs room, and the
*believers took him there. Many widows were there. They were standing
round the body. They were crying and they were showing Peter many coats and other
clothes. Dorcas had made these for people while she was still
alive.

v40 But Peter sent all the people out of the room. Then he
got down on his knees and he prayed. He turned toward the dead body and
he said: ‘Tabitha, stand up.’ Immediately she opened her eyes. She saw
Peter and she sat up. v41 He grasped one of her hands and he
helped her to stand up. Then Peter called the *believers and especially the
widows to come back into the room. And he showed them that she was alive
again. v42 Soon people everywhere in Joppa knew about that
*miracle, and many people believed the *Lord. v43 Peter stayed in Joppa
for many days with a man called Simon. Simon made leather from animal skins.

Acts 10:1-33 Peter in the house of Captain Cornelius

v1 In Caesarea city there was a man whose
name was Cornelius. He was a *Roman officer. He was in
command of a group of several hundred *Roman soldiers from the
country called Italy. v2 Cornelius always tried to do what
would please the one true God. He and all the people in his house were
*non-Jews who *worshipped the one true God. Cornelius often gave
money to help poor *Jewish people. And he often prayed to God.

v3 One day, at about 3 in the afternoon Cornelius
had a dream. He clearly saw an *angel whom God had sent. The *angel
came into his room and the *angel spoke to him, ‘Cornelius.’ v4
Cornelius stared at the *angel and became afraid. Then, full of fear, he asked:
‘*Lord, what do you want?’ The *angel answered: ‘You have pleased God because
you have often prayed to him. And God has seen how you give out your
money. You give it to poor people to help them. God has accepted all this as
if you were making a *sacrifice to him’, said the *angel.

v5 ‘So now order men to go to Joppa city. They must
find a man called Simon, whose other name is Peter. v6 He is staying in
the house of another man whose name is also Simon. Simon makes leather,
and his house is near the sea.’ v7 The *angel who spoke to him left.
Then Cornelius called for two of the family servants. He also sent one of his
soldiers who also *worshipped the one true God. v8
Cornelius explained to them everything that the *angel had said. Then he
told them to go to Joppa. And he told them to bring Peter to Caesarea.

v9 About midday the next day those three men were
travelling along the road. They were getting near to Joppa city. At
the same time, Peter went up on the flat roof-top of Simon’s
house to pray to God. v10 After a while, he became
hungry and he wanted something to eat. But while he was waiting for the people
to prepare the food, he had this dream:

v11 He saw that someone had opened *heaven [OR, He
saw an opening in the sky]. And someone was lowering something like a
large cotton sheet to the ground. The four corners of the sheet had
*ropes tied to them. v12 And inside the sheet were all kinds of
living things. There were animals and birds which *Jewish people could not
eat. Moses’ *Law forbade them to do it. Some of these living things had
4 feet, and other living things crawled on the ground. Other living
things were wild birds.

v13 Then Peter heard a voice speak to him. He
thought that it was God’s voice. ‘Peter, stand up’, the voice said. ‘Kill
some of these animals and eat their meat!’ v14 But Peter
replied, ‘*Lord, you do not really want me to do that! I
have never eaten any meat of such animals. Our *Jewish *law says that
those animals are not clean. It is not right that we eat it.’

v15 He heard that voice say to him a second time:
‘God says that it is right. You can eat these animals’ meat. You must not
say that is not right.’ v16 Peter heard the voice repeat those
words three times. And immediately after the third time, someone pulled
the sheet up into *heaven [OR, into the sky] again. It went up with
all the living things.

v17 Peter was still trying to understand what that dream
meant. Then the men whom Cornelius had sent arrived. People had told them
how to get to the house of Simon the leather worker. So they were
standing outside the gate of the yard of the house. v18 They were
asking if a man whose name was Simon Peter was staying there. v19 But
Peter was still upstairs and he was thinking about the dream. Then the *Holy
Spirit spoke clearly to him: ‘Listen! Three men are here who want
to meet you. v20 So, get up and go downstairs. They are not *Jews, but
go with these men anyway! Do not think that you should not go with them. I
caused them to come here!’ the *Holy Spirit said.

v21 So Peter went down to talk to the men. ‘Greetings!’
he said, ‘I am the man that you are looking for. But why have you
come?’ v22 They replied, ‘Our boss, Cornelius sent us here. He is a
*Roman army officer. He is a good man who *worships the one true God.
All the *Jewish people who know him say that.

Now, God sent one of his very own *angels to him with this
message: “Send some men to Joppa to meet Simon Peter. Bring him here.
Cornelius needs to hear what Peter will say to him” ’, the men said to Peter. v23
So Peter said that he would go with them. But first, he invited them
into the house. He told them that they could stay there that night.

The next day Peter got ready and he went with them. Several of
the *believers from Joppa city also went with them. v24 The day
after that, he and the people with him arrived in Caesarea city. Cornelius
was waiting for them. He had also invited his relatives and very good friends to
come. So they were there in his house too.

v25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him. Then he
began to *worship Peter as he bent down low in front of him. v26 But
Peter grasped Cornelius’s arm and made him stand up. ‘Stand up and do
not give me special honour!’ Peter said to him. ‘I myself am only human exactly
like you.’

v27 Peter was still talking to Cornelius when they and
the other people entered the house. He saw that many people had come
together there. v28 So Peter said, ‘You all know how strict our
*Jewish *laws are. Our *laws say that we must not do anything with *non-Jews.
We must not even visit someone who is not a *Jew. If we did that, we
would not be obeying the *Law.’

‘But God gave me a dream before I came here. He showed me
that he accepts anyone. So then I cannot say that God will not accept
someone’, Peter said. v29 ‘So when you sent people to me, I came
back with them immediately. I did not say that I could not go with
*non-Jews. Now, please tell me, why have you invited me here?’

v30 So Cornelius replied: ‘4 days ago, I was praying to
God in my house. I always pray at 3 in the afternoon. Suddenly a
person whose clothes shone brightly stood in front of me. v31
“Cornelius”, this person said to me. “God has heard you when you have
prayed to him. Also, God has noticed and he is pleased with you.
You have often given money to poor people to help them. v32
So now, send people to Joppa city, to bring Simon Peter here.
Peter is staying in a house near the sea. The house belongs to another man
called Simon who is a leather worker. When Simon Peter comes he is going to
tell you something from God”, said the person in bright clothes

v33 So I immediately sent the men who brought you
here’, continued Cornelius. ‘I certainly thank you for coming. And
now we are all together here, together with the *Lord God who
is also present. We want to hear everything that the *Lord God says. So
please tell us God’s *message’, Cornelius said.

10:34-48 Peter’s message to Cornelius and his family

v34 So Peter began to speak to them. ‘Now I know
that God really is fair to everybody’, he said. ‘He is not favourable only
to certain groups of people. v35 Instead, God accepts everyone
who *worships him. He accepts those who please him. It does not
matter what nation they come from.’

v36 ‘This is the *message that God sent to us
*Israeli people not long ago. It is about Jesus *Christ and about
what he has done for all people. Jesus has made people to be at
peace with God. This person, Jesus, is the *Lord who rules over
all people. He does not just rule the *Jews. v37 You know what
Jesus did all through the country called Judea. He began in Galilee. John
had been telling people that they should turn away from their *sin. Then he
would *baptise them.

v38 And then Jesus came from Nazareth town. God’s
*Holy Spirit was always with him and the Spirit helped him to
do *miracles. Jesus did good things in many different places and he
healed people. He cured everyone whom the devil was causing to suffer. Jesus
was able to do those things because God always helped him.

v39 We *apostles saw what Jesus did in the rest of
Judea and in Jerusalem city. We can tell people about everything that he
did. The *Jewish leaders in Jerusalem gave Jesus to the *Romans. They
killed him by fastening him up on a *cross. v40 But three days later God
caused him to become alive again. God also allowed some of us to
see Jesus. This proved to us that he was alive again. v41 God
did not let all the *Jewish people see him. God just chose
us. This was so that we could tell other people about him. After
his death and after he had become alive again, we even ate meals
with him.

v42 And Jesus ordered us to speak to other people. We must
tell people that God has chosen Jesus. He will *judge all people some
day. He will *judge everyone who will still be alive. And he will
*judge all those who will have died by that time. v43 All the
*prophets who wrote long ago told people about the *Messiah. They said this:
If a person believes the *Messiah, God will not blame that person for their
*sins.’

v44 Peter was still speaking these words, and then,
suddenly the *Holy Spirit came down. The *Holy Spirit began to control
all the *non-Jews who were listening to the *Message. v45 The *Jewish
*believers who had come with Peter from Joppa were astonished. They
could see that God had given the *Holy Spirit also to the *non-Jews. v46
The *Jewish *believers knew that God had done that. They were hearing those
other *believers speak strange languages. Those *believers had not
learned those languages, but they were telling about God’s greatness.

v47 Then Peter spoke to the *Jewish *believers who were
there. ‘You can see that God has given *non-Jews the *Holy Spirit’, Peter
said. ‘They have received him exactly like God gave him to us *Jewish
*believers. So you probably will all agree that we should *baptise
these people with water.’ v48 Then Peter told the *non-Jews to
let the *Jewish *believers *baptise them. This would show that they
had believed the *Lord Jesus *Christ. So the *Jewish *believers
*baptised all of them. Then Cornelius’s family asked Peter to stay with
them for several more days. So Peter and the other *Jewish *believers
stayed with them.

Acts 11:1-18 Peter reports to the church in Jerusalem city

v1 People told the *apostles that some *non-Jews
had believed God’s *message about Jesus. So all the *believers who lived
in Judea *province heard about this. v2 So, later on Peter and
6 other *believers went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. Then some*Jewish[7] *believers told Peter that he had done something wrong. They
thought that *Jews should not do anything with *non-Jews. v3 They
said to him: ‘You did something wrong when you visited *non-Jews.
You even ate with them! How awful!’

v4 So Peter began to explain carefully exactly what had
happened at Cornelius’s house. v5 ‘I was praying by myself in
Joppa city’, he said. ‘But I fell asleep and I had a dream. I dreamt that
someone was lowering something like a large cotton sheet from
*heaven. The sheet had *ropes tied to its four corners. It came down
exactly where I was. v6 I looked inside the sheet. It was full of
animals. There were tame animals, and also wild animals, snakes, and wild
birds. Many of these were animals which we cannot eat because of our *Law.

v7 Then I heard God tell me: “Peter, stand up! Now, kill some
of these animals and eat their meat!” v8 But I replied:
“*Lord, you cannot really want me to do that. I have never eaten the
meat of any animal which our *Law forbids.” v9 God spoke to
me from *heaven a second time, “If some meat is suitable to me, do not say,
‘It is not right’.” v10 God said that a third time. Then someone pulled
the sheet with all those animals and birds in it up into *heaven
again.’

v11 ‘So I was still at the house where I was
staying in Joppa. My dream had finished. At that exact moment, three men
whom Cornelius had sent from Caesarea arrived at the house. (They
told me why they had come.) v12 I knew that they were not *Jews. But
the *Holy Spirit told me that I should be willing to go with them. I should
not worry.

These 6 *Jewish *believers from Joppa also went
with me to Caesarea. We arrived at a certain house. It belonged to a man
who was not a *Jew. v13 He had seen an *angel, he said. The *angel was
standing in his house. The *angel had told him: “Send some men
to Joppa city to bring back Simon Peter. v14 Peter will tell
you how God will save you and everyone else in your house and
family.” ’

v15 ‘I had just started to speak’, Peter said, ‘and then
the *Holy Spirit came down on them. The *Holy Spirit began to control
them, exactly like when he first came on us during *Pentecost. v16
Then I remembered what the *Lord had said: “John made people enter the water
when he *baptised them. But God will send the *Holy Spirit to you and change
you completely.”

v17 We received the *Holy Spirit from God when we
believed the *Lord Jesus *Christ. So now God has given to those *non-Jews the
same *Holy Spirit that he had given to us. So I could not possibly stop
God from accepting *non-Jews.’

v18 After the *Jewish *believers heard those words,
they stopped accusing Peter. Instead, they praised God. They were
saying: ‘Then clearly God also accepts people who are not *Jews. They
may turn back from their *sin and believe Jesus’ *Message. And God has
given them also the *life that never ends.’

Acts 11:19-30 The group of *believers in Antioch city

v19 After people had killed Stephen, they began to
hurt very much the Jerusalem *believers. Because of this, many of the
*believers ran away from Jerusalem and they went to many other places.
Many of those *believers went to the Phoenicia region and to Cyprus island.
And some of them went to Antioch city in Syria *province. In those
places they always told people the *message about Jesus, but they told only
other *Jewish people. v20 Now, some of the *believers were men from
Cyprus island and Cyrene city in North Africa. They went to
Antioch city. They spoke to *Jews, but they also spoke to the *non-Jews
there. They told those *non-Jewish people about the *Lord Jesus. v21
The *Lord God greatly helped those *believers to speak powerfully.
So, very many *non-Jews believed their *message and they
trusted the *Lord Jesus.

v22 This news came to those *believers who were still in
Jerusalem. People were saying that many Antioch people were believing Jesus’
*message. So the leaders of the Jerusalem group asked
Barnabas to go to Antioch. v23 Barnabas arrived there. And he
realised that God had acted in a very kind way toward the *believers there.
So he was very happy and he greatly encouraged all of those *believers. He
told them to continue to trust completely the *Lord Jesus. v24
Barnabas was a good man whom the *Holy Spirit completely controlled. He
trusted God completely. And because of what Barnabas did, many
people there believed the *Lord Jesus.

v25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus city in Cilicia
*province to find Saul. v26 He found Saul and he brought him to
Antioch. He wanted Saul to help him as he taught the new *believers. So
during a whole year Barnabas and Saul met regularly with the
group of *believers there. And they taught very many of them about
Jesus. It was at Antioch that people first called the *believers
Christians.

v27 Barnabas and Saul were still at Antioch. One
day some *believers who were *prophets arrived there from Jerusalem.
v28 One of them, called Agabus, stood up in the meeting of the group to
speak to everyone. The *Holy Spirit controlled him as he spoke.
He told them that people in many countries would soon go through a
time of great hunger. They would not have enough food to eat. That
time of hunger happened when the *Emperor Claudius was ruling the
*Roman *empire. v29 And the *believers who lived in Judea *province
were suffering badly. So the *believers in Antioch decided that they
would send money to them. Each of them gave as much money as they
could. v30 They sent Barnabas and Saul to take the money to
Jerusalem. They would give it to the older leaders of the group of
*believers.

Acts 12:1-25 King *Herod causes much trouble for Peter and all the
*believers

v1 It was about this time that king *Herod Agrippa
the First sent out his soldiers. They seized and put in prison certain
leaders of the Jerusalem *believers. *Herod wanted to make the
*believers suffer. v2 He ordered a soldier to cut off the head of
the *apostle James. James was the older brother of the *apostle John.
v3 *Herod realised that James’s death had pleased the leaders
of the *Jewish people. So he ordered soldiers to arrest Peter
also. This happened during a major *Jewish *festival. This was
the *festival when the *Jewish people ate bread which did not have any
*yeast in it.

v4 The soldiers had arrested Peter, and *Herod put
him in prison. *Herod ordered 4 groups of soldiers to guard Peter. Each group
had 4 soldiers and every few hours a different group would guard Peter. *Herod
wanted to *judge Peter after the *Passover *festival had finished.
Then he would bring Peter out of prison and *condemn him in front of
the *Jewish people. *Herod then intended that his soldiers would kill
Peter.

v5 So, for several days soldiers continued to guard
Peter in prison. But the other *believers at Jerusalem were praying
strongly that God would help Peter. v6 *Herod wanted to *judge
Peter in front of the people. And it was the night before *Herod would
bring him out from prison. Peter was in the prison, and he was
sleeping between two soldiers. Two chains bound Peter’s arms to the arms of
the soldiers. Other soldiers were guarding the prison door.

v7 Suddenly the *Lord God sent an *angel to stand at
Peter’s side. And a bright light shone in the prison room. The
*angel touched Peter on the side and woke him up. Then the *angel
said to Peter, ‘Get up quickly!’ And while Peter was getting up, the
chains fell off from his arms[8]. v8 Then the *angel said to him: ‘Put
on your clothes and put shoes on your feet.’ Peter did so. Then the
*angel said to him: ‘Now, put on your coat and follow me!’

v9 So Peter followed the *angel out from the
prison room. The *angel was doing all this. But Peter had no idea that this
was really happening to him. Instead, Peter thought that he was
seeing the *angel in a dream.

v10 Soldiers were guarding the prison in two places in
the prison. But Peter and the *angel walked past them. The soldiers did
not see them. Then they came to the iron gate of the prison yard. That
gate opened by itself, and they went through it. Peter and the *angel left the
prison and entered a city street. They were walking along the street, and
then the *angel suddenly disappeared. v11 Then Peter finally realised
what had actually happened to him. So he thought to himself: ‘Now
I really know that the *Lord God sent an *angel to me. *Herod
wanted to do many evil things to me. And the *Jewish leaders expected
Herod to kill me. But the *angel rescued me from all of that.’

v12 Peter realised that God had rescued him. So he
went to Mary’s house. She was the mother of John whose other name was
Mark. Many *believers had gathered there and they were praying. They
were asking God to help Peter somehow. v13 Peter knocked at the
outer entrance. Then a servant girl called Rhoda went to see who was there.

v14 When Peter spoke, she recognised his voice. However,
she was so excited that she did not open the door. She ran back into the
house. Then, excitedly she told the other *believers that
Peter was standing outside the entrance. v15 They told her that
she was crazy! But she continued to say that it was really true. They still
replied: ‘It cannot be Peter who has come. It must be the *angel who
guarded him. (He has come to tell us that Peter has died.)’

v16 But Peter continued to knock on the door. So
someone finally opened the door. They were completely astonished
when they saw Peter. v17 Peter made a sign with his hand for them to be
quiet. Then he told them exactly how the *Lord God had led
him out of the prison. ‘Tell our leader James and our other *brother
*believers about this’, he also said. Then Peter left Mary’s house
and he went away to another town.

v18 The next morning the soldiers who had guarded Peter
were in real trouble. They did not know what had happened to Peter. v19
Then *Herod heard about it. He gave the soldiers orders to search for
Peter. But they did not find him. He also spoke to the
soldiers who had been guarding Peter. He asked them where he was. But
they could not explain how Peter got away. So Herod ordered other
soldiers to take them away and to kill them. Afterwards *Herod left
Judea *province and he went to Caesarea city. And he stayed there
for some time.

v20 At that time, *Herod was extremely angry with
the people who lived in Tyre and Sidon cities. So some of those
people came to Caesarea to meet with *Herod. They wanted to persuade
Blastus, one of *Herod’s important officials. He had to tell King *Herod that
the people in their cities wanted to have peace with the king. *Herod
had ordered everyone to stop sending food to the people in Tyre and Sidon. But
those people greatly needed to receive food from the king’s region.

v21 The king had announced that he would meet with them
on a certain day. That day, *Herod put on the king’s very expensive
clothes. Then he sat on his special chair from which he ruled people.
He spoke like a king to all the people who had gathered
there. v22 The people listened to the king, and then they
shouted aloud again and again about *Herod: ‘He is speaking like a god
and not like an ordinary person speaks!’

v23 At once an *angel whom the *Lord God had
sent caused *Herod to become seriously ill. Herod had allowed the people
to praise him. He did not tell them to praise God instead. That
was why he became ill. So, many little animals ate Herod inside him,
and soon he died very painfully.

v24 The *believers continued to tell people in
many places the *message from God about Jesus. And the number of people
who believed Jesus’ *message continued to increase.

Acts 12:25-13:12 Paul and Barnabas visit Cyprus island

Chapter 12 v25 Barnabas and Saul delivered the money to
help the *Jewish *believers in Judea. When they had finished that, they
returned to Antioch city, in Syria *province. They took John Mark back
to Antioch[9] with them.

v1Among the *believers in Antioch in Syria
*province, there were several *prophets and those who taught God’s words.
They were: Barnabas, Simeon, who was also called Niger [OR, the Black Man],
Lucius from Cyrene city, Manaen and Saul. Manaen had grown up from
childhood with governor *Herod. v2 One day, these *believers were
not eating while they *worshipped the *Lord together. Then the *Holy
Spirit spoke to them: ‘Immediately, appoint Barnabas and Saul to do my
work!’ v3 So the *believers still did not eat and they prayed for a
little while longer. They put their hands on Barnabas and Saul’s heads.
They prayed that God would help them. Then the *believers told Barnabas
and Saul to do what the *Holy Spirit had ordered them to do.

v4 The *Holy Spirit sent out Barnabas and Saul to go to
various places. They left Antioch and they went to Seleucia port.
There they got on a ship. And they travelled to Salamis port on Cyprus
island. v5 While they were in Salamis town, they went to
the *Jewish *synagogues. They told the people there God’s *Message about
Jesus. John Mark had also gone there with them and he was helping
them.

v6 Then those *apostles went across Cyprus island to
Paphos city. There they met a *Jewish man called Bar-Jesus who was a
*witch-doctor. He also claimed to be a *prophet, but it was a lie. v7
He often worked for the governor of the island, whose name was Sergius
Paulus. Sergius was an intelligent man. He sent someone to bring
Barnabas and Saul to him. He wanted to hear what God had to say. So Barnabas
and Saul came and told him the *Message. v8 The *witch-doctor’s name
was Elymas in the Greek language, and he opposed Barnabas and Saul. Many
times, he tried to persuade the governor not to believe in Jesus.

v9 Saul now had a new name, Paul. And now the *Holy
Spirit took full control of Paul. Paul looked directly at the
*witch-doctor and he said: v10 ‘You are exactly like the devil himself,
and you oppose everything good and true! You are always lying to
people and doing other evil things to them’, Paul said. ‘Stop
changing the truth about the *Lord God into what is not true! v11
Immediately the *Lord God will punish you! You will become blind and not
even be able to see the sun for a period of time.’ At once Elymas
became blind, like he was in a dark mist. He searched with his hands for
someone to lead him by the hand. v12 The governor saw what had
happened to Elymas. And he believed the *Lord Jesus’ *Message. He
was astonished by what Paul and Barnabas were teaching about the *Lord
Jesus.

Acts 13:13-52 Paul and Barnabas take the good news to *non-Jews in Pisidian
Antioch after many *Jews oppose it

v13 Paul and the men who were with him left
Paphos by ship. They went to the port called Perga in Pamphylia *province.
At Perga, John Mark left them and he returned to his home
in Jerusalem. v14 Then Paul and Barnabas left Perga and they
went by land to Antioch city. Antioch was in the Pisidia district
of Galatia *province. On the *Sabbath, they went to the *synagogue and they
sat down. v15 Someone read aloud to the people there from the
*Scriptures. They read from the books of Moses’ *law. Then someone else
read aloud to them from what the other *prophets had written. Then
the *synagogue leaders asked someone to go over to Paul and Barnabas
with this message: ‘My *Jewish *brothers, please would you speak to us
now. Perhaps one of you has something to say which might encourage the
people here.’

v16 So Paul stood up and signalled with his right hand.
He wanted the people to be quiet and to listen to him. ‘My *Israeli
*brothers and you *non-Jewish people who also *worship God, please
listen to me!’ he said. v17 ‘We *Israeli people *worship the
one true God. This God chose our *ancestors to be his people. They
were living in Egypt country as foreigners. But God allowed them to have
many children. Then after many years, God helped them powerfully and
he led them out of that country.’

v18 ‘God looked after them for about 40 years while
they were in the desert’, Paul said. ‘They often did not obey God, but
he still looked after them. v19 There were 7 people groups then
living in the Canaan region. But God caused the *Israeli
people to defeat those people. Then he gave their land to us
*Israeli people to possess as our own. v20 Our *ancestors
began to possess Canaan about 450 years after their *ancestors had
arrived in Egypt.’

‘After this, God appointed leaders to lead the *Israeli
people’, Paul said. ‘These leaders continued to rule our people until the
time of Samuel. Samuel was a *prophet, and he led them. v21
Then, the people demanded that God appoint a king for them.
Samuel was still their leader at that time. So God appointed Saul, Kish’s
son, to be their king. Saul was from the Benjamin people, and he
ruled our people for 40 years. v22 But God removed Saul from
being king. He appointed David as their king instead of Saul. God said this
about David: “I have noticed this: Jesse’s son, David is a man exactly like I want.
He will do all the things that I want.”

v23 Very many people were born after David. But God caused
one of them, Jesus, to come to us *Israeli people. Jesus came to save us
as God had promised. God had told David and our other *ancestors that
he would do this’, Paul said. v24 ‘Before Jesus began his work, many
*Israeli people came to John. He told God’s words to all of them. John
told them that they should stop *sinning. They should ask God to excuse
them for their *sins. And then John would *baptise them. v25
Later, when John was coming to the end of his life’s work, he often told this
to the people: “God promised to send his *Messiah. And you may think
that I am the *Messiah. But I am not. Listen! The *Messiah will soon
come. He is so much greater than I am. I am not even important
enough to be his slave.” ’

v26 Paul continued to speak: ‘My *brother *Israelis, you
who were born in the years since Abraham, please listen to me. Please
listen also, you who *worship God but are not *Jews. Please listen to
what I have to say’, he said. ‘God has sent the *Message about how he saves
people to all of us. v27 But the people who were living in
Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognise Jesus. They did not know that God
had sent this man Jesus. Someone has always read aloud to
*Jewish people messages from the *prophets every *Sabbath. But the people
did not understand what the *prophets wrote about the *Messiah. So the *Jewish
people said that Jesus deserved to die. The *prophets had written that
they would say that. v28 Many people accused Jesus of doing wrong
things. But they could not prove that Jesus was guilty. They could not
prove that he should die. Instead, they insisted that Pilate should kill
Jesus. So Pilate did what they asked him to do.

v29 Long ago the *prophets had written down all the
evil things that people would do to Jesus. And this is exactly what
they did to him. So they fastened Jesus to a *cross in order to kill him.
Then some other people took Jesus’ body down from the *cross on which
soldiers had fastened him. Those people placed his body in a cave that
they closed. v30 However, God brought him to life again after he had
died. v31 Then during many days Jesus appeared to certain people who
had followed him. They had followed him from the Galilee region to
Jerusalem. And these are the people who are now telling the *Jewish people
about him’, Paul said.

v32-33 ‘God promised our *Jewish *ancestors what
he would do. And he has now done this for us who were born into the
world after them. So, at this moment we two are telling you this
good *message’, Paul said. ‘God also did this for you who are not *Jews. And
he did this when he brought Jesus back to life again. This is completely
like what David wrote in the second *Psalm. It is what God said to
his *Son: “You are my *Son. And today I have proved to people that I
really am your Father.” v34 God brought the *Messiah back
to life again after he had died. Now God will never let him die
again. This was what God said to our *Jewish leaders in the beginning: “I
will certainly help you my people exactly like I promised David.”
v35 So David said this to God about the *Messiah.’

‘This is what David wrote in another *Psalm’, Paul
said. ‘ “I have given my life completely to you and I will always obey you.
So, when I die you will not let my body become nothing.” v36
David in his life did what God wanted him to do. Then David died, and people
buried his body. They buried him in the same family grave where people
had buried the bodies of other family members before him. David’s body did
become nothing. So, in this *psalm, David could not have been speaking about
himself. v37 Instead, David was speaking about Jesus. Jesus also
died, but God brought him back to life again. So Jesus’ body did not become
nothing.’

v38 ‘Therefore, my *Israeli *brothers and other
friends’, Paul said, ‘this is the *message that we are telling you now:
God can excuse you for your *sins because of what Jesus has
done. v39 There are many things that people do which do not please
God. But now God accepts every person who has believed Jesus. They
are no longer guilty of their *sins. But God could not do that for you
just because you obey Moses’ *laws. v40 Therefore be careful that God
does not *judge you for your *sins’, Paul said. ‘One of the
*prophets said that God would do that! v41 The *prophet said
that God said: “I will do something terrible to you who laugh at me. You
will certainly be astonished at what I will do. And you will certainly
die. You will be astonished, because I will do something terrible
to you during your life. Someone may explain it to you. But you will
not believe that I would do that even then.” ’

v42 Paul and Barnabas were leaving the *synagogue, but many
of the people there stopped them. They eagerly requested the two men
to speak to them again on the next *Sabbath. They wanted Paul to talk
again about many things that he had just told them. v43
The *synagogue leaders had ended the meeting, and the people there
had begun to leave the *synagogue. Many of them went along with
Paul and Barnabas. There were both *Jews and *non-Jews. Those people had
become *Jews and now they *worshipped the one God. Paul and Barnabas continued
to talk to them. They urged them to continue to believe God’s
*message. It was the *message about God’s kindness because of Jesus that
they did not deserve.

v44 On the next *Sabbath most of the people in Antioch city
came to the *synagogue. They wanted to hear what Paul and Barnabas would
say about the *Lord Jesus. v45 But the *Jewish leaders became
extremely jealous of Paul and Barnabas. They saw many *non-Jews
there. They had come to hear what the *apostles would say. So those leaders
began to argue with Paul and also to insult him.

v46 But Paul and Barnabas were quite bold when they
replied to those *Jews: ‘We two had to tell you God’s *message about
Jesus to you *Jews first. God ordered us to do that before we
told it to the *non-Jews. However, you are refusing to listen to God’s
*message. God offers you a *life that never ends. But this shows clearly
that you do not deserve that *life. So we are leaving you and from
now on we will usually tell God’s *message to the *non-Jews. v47
The *Lord God has ordered us to do this. God said: “I have
appointed you to teach things about me to other people. I do not want
you to speak only to *Jews. You will be like a light that shows things
to people”, God said. “I have appointed you to talk to people everywhere in
the world. I want you to tell them about the God who came to save them”
’, Paul and Barnabas said.

v48 Those who were not *Jews began to feel extremely happy
as they listened to those words. They kept saying that the *message
about the *Lord Jesus was wonderful. All those *non-Jewish people whom God
had chosen believed the *message about the *Lord Jesus. God wanted
them to have the *life with him that never ends. v49 At that
time, many *believers travelled all through that region to announce
publicly the message about the *Lord Jesus. And many more people
believed Jesus.

v50 However, some *Jewish leaders talked to the
most important men in the city. They also persuaded some good and
important women who were not of the *Jewish religion to oppose Paul and
Barnabas. So those people who were not *Jews themselves caused other
people also to make problems for Paul and Barnabas. That was how they
managed to get Paul and Barnabas to leave their region. v51
When they left, Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet. This
was to show those people that God would punish them. They left Antioch city
and they went to Iconium city. v52 Meanwhile the *believers in
Antioch continued to be extremely happy. And the *Holy Spirit continued to
completely control them.

Acts 14:1-20 Paul and Barnabas in Galatia

v1 Paul and Barnabas went into the *Jewish *synagogue
in Iconium city, the same as they did in Antioch. As they spoke, they
tried to convince the people there about the *Lord Jesus. And because of
what they said, many *Jews and also *non-Jews believed Jesus’ *message. v2
But some of the *Jews did not believe that *message. And they
told the *non-Jews not to believe it. They said that the *message about
Jesus was not true. So some of the *non-Jews became angry against
the *believers there. v3 Paul and Barnabas spent some days
there, and they spoke boldly for the *Lord. And the *Lord Jesus helped them to
do many *miracles. The *apostles were talking about God’s great kindness.
By those *miracles the *Lord showed the people there that the
*apostles’ words were true.

v4 The people of Iconium city strongly disagreed
with each other about the *apostles’ *message. Some of them agreed
with the *Jews who did not believe that *message. Other people agreed
with the two *apostles. v5 Then the *Jews and the *non-Jews who
opposed Paul and Barnabas talked among themselves. They wanted to stop
Paul and Barnabas’s work. Some of the important men in that city agreed to
help them. And together, they decided that they would kill Paul and
Barnabas. They would throw stones at them until they were dead. v6
But Paul and Barnabas heard about that, so they quickly escaped to the
Lycaonia region. They went to the towns of Lystra and Derbe and
to the surroundings. v7 And while they were in that area,
they continued to tell people God’s *message about the *Lord Jesus.

v8 Once, Paul was speaking publicly to people in
Lystra. And there was a man sitting there who was not able to walk. His
legs were bad from the time he was born. He had never been able to walk. v9
He listened to Paul as he was speaking about the *Lord Jesus. Paul
looked directly at the man. He could see in the man’s face that he
believed. The man believed that the *Lord Jesus could make him well. v10
So Paul called out to the man, ‘Stand up!’ The man immediately jumped
up and he began to walk normally.

v11 The crowds saw what Paul had done. They thought
that Paul and Barnabas must be gods. By custom they *worshipped a variety of
gods. So they began to shout excitedly in their own Lycaonia
language: ‘Look! These people must really be the gods that we
*worship. They have made themselves appear as if they were people. And they
have come down from the sky to help us!’ v12 The people were
saying that Barnabas was probably Zeus, the chief god. And they
were saying that Paul was Hermes. They were saying that the other gods
had sent him. They said that, because Paul had been the chief speaker.

v13 Close outside the city gates there was a
*temple where the people *worshipped the god Zeus. The priest of that
*temple had heard about Paul and Barnabas, so he came to the city gates.
Many people had gathered there. The priest brought some bulls
(male cows) with flowers round their necks. The priest and the people
wanted to have a ceremony. They wanted to give special honour to
Paul and Barnabas. And they were ready to kill the bulls as *sacrifices.

v14 But when the *apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about
this, they were very upset. They understood that the people thought
about them, the *apostles, as gods. And those people wanted to *sacrifice the
*bulls to give honour to them. So the *apostles tore their own clothes and
they rushed into the crowd. v15 ‘Everybody, you should not be doing
this!’ they shouted. ‘You must not kill those *bulls to give us honour. We
two men are not gods. We are just people, like you. We have come to tell
you a new and good *message. We have come to tell you about the one God who
is all-powerful. He wants you to stop *worshipping other gods. They cannot
help you’, the *apostles said.

‘The one God, who is alive, made the sky, the
earth, the seas, and everything in them. v16 In past years, all
the people in the world *worshipped whatever gods they wanted to. God let you
*worship such gods, because you did not yet know him. v17 But God
has shown how kind he is towards all people. He causes the rain to fall and the
crops to grow. He gives you plenty of food to eat, and he causes you to
be very happy.’ v18 The people heard what Paul said. But it was
still difficult to keep them from killing the *bulls as *sacrifices to Paul and
Barnabas.

v19 And later, there were some *Jews who had come from
Antioch and Iconium. They persuaded many of the people in Lystra to not believe
Paul’s *message. What he had been telling them was not true, they said.
And the people who believed those *Jews became angry against Paul. They let
the *Jews continue to throw stones at him until he lost his senses. He
fell down, and everybody thought that he was dead. So they dragged him
outside the city. But some *believers in Lystra had followed Paul outside
the city. They came to where he was lying. v20 They stood round
Paul, until his senses returned. Then he stood up and he went back into
the city with those *believers.

The next day, Paul and Barnabas left Lystra town and they
travelled to Derbe town. v21 They stayed there some days and
they told the people the good *message about the *Lord Jesus. Many
people became *believers in Jesus. After that, Paul and Barnabas started to travel
back to Antioch in Syria. First, they returned to Lystra, and then they
went to Iconium. Then they went on to Antioch in Pisidia[10]. v22In each town, they helped the *believers to become strong in their
*spirits. And they urged them to continue to trust the *Lord Jesus.
They told the *believers: ‘God will always rule over us who have
trusted in Jesus. But before that happens many people will cause us
a lot of hurt’, they said.

v23 Paul and Barnabas appointed leaders for each local group
of *believers. Before Paul and Barnabas left each town, they gathered the
*believers together. They prayed together for some time without
eating any food. Then Paul and Barnabas prayed to the *Lord Jesus for
those leaders and the other *believers. They had believed the
*message of the *Lord Jesus. And now the *apostles put them in God’s hands
so that he would look after them.

v24 Paul and Barnabas travelled through Pisidia
district. Then they went south to Pamphylia district. v25
There, they came first to Perga town and told the people there God’s
*message about the *Lord Jesus. After that, they went down to the sea
coast to a town called Attalia. v26 There they got into a
ship. And then they crossed the sea back to Antioch town in Syria
*province. So Paul and Barnabas returned to where they had started their
journey. They had taken the good news to other places. And now they
met again the *believers who had first appointed them. They had
asked God to protect Paul and Barnabas. And the *apostles had completed
that work.

v27 As soon as they arrived in Antioch, they called the
*believers together. Paul and Barnabas had told the *message about
Jesus to *non-Jewish people in many towns. So they reported to the
*believers in Antioch all that God had helped them to do. In particular,
they told them how many *non-Jewish people had believed Jesus’ *message.
v28 Then Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch with the other
*believers for several months.

Word List

advocate ~ someone who speaks about or defends a person or
thing; they are not just lawyers; they speak to officials or offices on behalf
of other people. People often use this word nowadays in this second sense.

ancestors ~ people from whom our parents came; the old
people who lived long ago.

angels ~ *spirits who live with God in *heaven. They carry
messages to people in this world. And they do anything that God tells them to
do.

apostle ~ someone whom God sends. In the beginning, Jesus
chose 12 men. They were with him during his life. They heard what he said. They
saw what he did. Then Jesus made them his *apostles. The word means that he had
sent them. He told them to take his *message to other towns and countries. They
should go there after he left this world. They also led the groups of
*believers in the first years after Jesus left them.

bandit ~ someone who robs by force. A person or group of
persons who oppose society or the government. In Jesus’ time, bandits fought
the *Romans. They usually attacked from secret places where they were hiding.

baptise, baptism, baptiser ~ to put water on or over
someone. Before Jesus started to teach, another man called John baptised
people. He told them to stop their *sins. Then he put river water on or over
them. This showed that they were clean for God. Jesus also asked John to
baptise him. People heard the *Holy Spirit speak at that time.

believers ~ people who believe *Christ. They hear and
believe Jesus' *Message. They also meet together often to *worship God.

brother, brothers ~ the name that people use sometimes
when they speak to a group of people from their own town or country. They say
this to other people even if they are not brothers by birth.

bull ~ a male cow.

Christ ~ God chose Jesus and God sent him. That is what
this name means. This refers to the work that Jesus came to do in this world.
Christ is a word in the Greek language. *Messiah means the same in the Hebrew
language.

Christian ~ those who believe *Christ’s *message, and it
affects their lives.

circumcise, circumcision ~ a custom that God set up for
all male *Jews. It was a sign for each *Jewish man or boy that they intended to
obey God’s *Laws. It started with Abraham and his people. God asked them to cut
off the loose skin on the end of the male private part. *Jews usually did this
when the male baby was only 8 days old. In the Bible, some *Jews are described
as ‘the *circumcision (party)’. This group of people wanted to circumcise all
the *non-Jewish male *Christians too.

condemn, condemns, condemned ~ to say that something is
wrong; to say that someone is guilty.

Council, Jewish Council ~ the most important people in
Jerusalem city. This included the chief priests, teachers of the *Law of Moses,
*Pharisees and *Sadducees.

cross ~ two pieces of wood that someone has fixed
together. This was how the *Romans punished bad people. They made a wooden
cross and they fixed them on it with nails. They left them there until they
died.

demons ~ see ‘evil spirits’.

disciples ~ students or learners. They watch their teacher
as he travels. And they learn what he says. Or they learn from what he does.
This is how the 12 disciples learned from Jesus.

Egyptian ~ a person or thing from Egypt.

empire, emperor ~ an empire is a large group of countries
that one powerful person called the emperor rules. Usually, he has seized many
of those countries by war. These countries were then called *provinces of the
empire. The *Roman emperor was called a ‘Caesar’, and he lived in Rome city. He
sent a ruler to each *province, to rule on his behalf.

evil spirits ~ a spirit is alive but we cannot see it. We
can feel that evil spirits are present. But we cannot see them. They come from
the devil (look below at note on ‘spirits’).

fast, fasting ~ sometimes people very much want God to
hear or to speak to them. They do not eat anything for one day or several days,
so that they can pray to God better. They just drink a little water.

festival ~ a day or days that people keep special as
holidays. Or days when they have special meals and ceremonies of their
religion.

forgive ~ when you do not take account of a wrong thing
that someone does to you.

gospel ~ (1) The good news about Jesus; (2) the record of
Jesus’ life in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

grape ~ a sweet, round fruit. The fruit hangs in large
groups from *vines. People make a strong drink called wine with grape juice.
The field or garden where grape *vines grow is called a *vineyard.

Greek ~ a person from Greece, or the language that Greek
people speak.

heaven ~ God’s place that is wonderfully bright. From
there, all of God rules everything that exists on earth or the sky and the sun
and stars. As ‘the heavens’, people also use this word for the sky above.

Hebrew ~ the language of *Jewish people; a Hebrew is a
*Jewish or *Israelite person.

hell ~ a terrible fire that never ends. There, God will
destroy *Satan (God’s enemy) and all evil people when the world ends.

Herod ~ (1) Herod Antipas, or Herod of the Antipater
family. It is the name of the king (or ‘herod’) of Galilee and Perea districts
while Jesus was on earth. This Herod was king, but he had to obey the *Romans.
He ordered the death of John the *Baptiser. He also helped to *judge Jesus
before the soldiers killed Jesus on a *cross. He was a son of Herod the Great.
(2) Herod Agrippa the First. He was a grandson of Herod the Great. He was the
ruler in the early days of the *apostles. (3) Herod Agrippa the Second, last of
the Herods. He *judged Paul (Acts chapters 25-26) before he sent him to *Rome.

Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit ~ one person of the three
persons who are the one God. He is a *spirit that we cannot see. But we know
that he is here. He lives deep inside all people who believe Jesus. He
continues the work that Jesus began in this world. So he is also called the
‘Spirit of Jesus’.

Israel, Israeli ~ the *Jewish nation and people. They are
called this name because of Abraham’s grandson, Jacob. God changed Jacob’s name
to Israel. God had promised him that he would be the father of a great nation
of many people.

Jews, Jewish ~ the people who live in *Israel and speak
the Hebrew language. The *Jews began with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God chose
them as his special people (in the first part of the Bible). Jesus was a Jew.
(Also see ‘non-Jewish’.)

judge ~ to decide about what people have done. When this
world ends, God will decide about what everyone has done. He will say if it was
right. He will say if it was wrong. Then he will punish everybody who does
wrong things.

law, Law ~ the laws that God gave to Moses, who wrote them
down. The Law begins with the Ten Rules in Exodus chapter 20. And it continues
to the end of the book called Deuteronomy. The *Jewish priests, *Pharisees and
teachers added other laws to those that Moses wrote. And they thought of thousands
of other meanings for these rules. But Jesus did not agree with these laws that
they had added.

leper, leprosy ~ a skin disease that many people fear;
spots on the skin that finally destroy parts of the body. Such body parts are
the nose, the ears, fingers or toes. These spots make the skin white, as if it
was dead. In Bible times, they did not allow lepers to live in villages with
other people. If they recovered from the disease, they had to go to the
*Temple. The priest examined them. Then he told them what *sacrifice to give.
And he told other people in the village that it was now safe. That person could
now come back to live in the village.

life, this life (that never ends) ~ those people who have
this life will live with God for all time. Jesus has made a promise to any
person who believes him. Jesus says that such a person will always live with
God. Also, God will live with them here in this world. And they will live with
God after their bodies die. It is a new life, and it is a much better life.

Lord ~ the boss or owner of something or of a work. The
Bible uses ‘Lord’ for God, because he controls everything. But the *apostles
also called Jesus *Christ ‘Lord’, or ‘the Lord’.

Lord’s Supper, Supper ~ a meal that they ate in the early
churches for the benefit of poorer *believers. This was like the last *Passover
supper that Jesus had with his *disciples. And so the *believers remembered the
words that Jesus had said then. The words ‘break bread’ need not mean any more
than to share food. As the meal begins, one *believer divides a piece of bread.
Then he gives the other half to the person next to him.

mercy, merciful ~ to be kind when you do not have to be
kind.

message, true message ~ the Good News about Jesus *Christ.

Messiah ~ the word for ‘Christ’ in the Hebrew language.
(See note above on ‘Christ’.)

miracle, miraculous ~ something great or wonderful that
only God can do; something that God does to show people his power; or he does
it to tell people something about himself.

non-Jewish, non-Jews ~ people in other nations than the
*Jewish nation; any people in the world who are not *Jews.

ointment ~ a soft or oily medicine that people put on
injuries; or, a substance to put on the skin to make a person more beautiful.

parable ~ a story from real life, that you are using to
teach a truth. Jesus often used such stories when he taught people. Sometimes
parables had hidden meanings. Then only people who wanted to believe *Christ
could understand the meaning.

paralytic ~ someone who absolutely cannot move an arm or a
leg; or, someone who cannot move their whole body.

Passover ~ the first major *festival or holy day in the
*Jewish year. *Jews ate a special meal on this day every year of lamb (young
sheep) and bread. They made the bread without *yeast. This was to remember the
night when God freed them from being slaves in Egypt. The *angel of death
passed over all *Jewish homes and God saved them. In Jesus’ time, all *Jewish
families came to Jerusalem for this *festival.

Pentecost ~ another *Jewish holy day that came 50 days
after *Passover (see Acts 2:1).

Pharisee ~ a group or party of *Jewish leaders, often rich
people. They were very proud. They thought that they, and only they, obeyed all
God’s rules. They did not like the things that Jesus taught. They opposed him
strongly. But some Pharisees believed Jesus, like Nicodemus.

porch ~ an entrance to a building. It has a roof.

prophet ~ someone who speaks God’s word about a person,
thing or event; or they speak about what will happen in the future.

province ~ a region or part of a nation or of an *empire
with its own local government.

psalm ~ a song that people sing to God. One of the 150 psalms
that David and other *Jewish musicians wrote down. They are in the Book of
Psalms in the first part of the Bible.

reject, rejected ~ refuse to accept, throw out or throw
away.

Roman ~ people from the city called Rome; or people who
had the same rights as Roman citizens even if they lived elsewhere. A powerful
*emperor or ‘Caesar’, who lived in Rome, ruled them. Romans did not *worship
the one, true God. They had many gods of their own, and the ‘caesar’ was the
head god. The Romans seized land from many European and Asian countries to make
their *empire. And they had seized *Israeli land, before Jesus was born. They
called that land, Palestine *province. The *Jews hated the Romans and all their
laws and taxes, and they often fought against them.

Rome ~ Rome was the capital city of the rulers at that
time.

rope ~ thick, strong string.

sabbath ~ the last day of the *Jewish week, and a day of
rest. No one in *Israel could do any work on that day. But they could do things
that pleased God. Sabbath began at sunset on Friday. It finished at sunset on
Saturday.

sacrifice, sacrificial ~ when a priest killed a special or
pure animal as a gift to God. By this, people asked God to excuse them for
their *sins, or they gave special *worship to him. God told Moses and the *Jews
to make several sacrifices. They did this to ask God to forgive their *sins, or
to thank and praise him. Or they did it to get good harvests. Also, a sacrifice
is something that a person gives up for a special purpose. The greatest
sacrifice was when *Christ died on a *cross to save us from our *sin.

Sadducees ~ a group of *Jews. They did not believe that a
person continued to live on after he had died. They only used the first 5 books
of the Old Testament (the first part of the Bible).

sandal ~ a type of open shoe. A piece of leather covers
the bottom of the foot, and leather string holds it on the foot.

Satan ~ the ruler of all *evil spirits; he starts all the
lies and false things in the world; another name for the devil.

saviour ~ someone who saves or rescues people or things.
Jesus *Christ is our Saviour, or the one who saves us. He rescues people from
the devil or from their *sin. He also rescues them from hopeless situations.

scribes ~ teachers of the *Law of Moses. They said that
they always knew what the *Jewish *Scriptures said. So they thought that they
were very important.

Scripture ~ God’s *message that various people had written
down over many years. In the Scriptures, God showed people, little by little,
what he is like. And he showed people what he wants. The Bible that the early
*believers had was mainly the Old Testament (the first part of the Bible). Jews
thought that the books of Moses, the *Law, were especially the *Scriptures.

sin, sins ~ the wrong things that we do. God says that
they are wrong.

sinful, sinner ~ someone who does wrong things. Sinners do
not do what God wants.

Son of God ~ a name similar to ‘Son of Man’. Some *Gospel
writers use one name, some use the other name. ‘Son’ means that God did send
Jesus. And it means that he came from God. But the word ‘son’ does not mean
that Jesus was less important than God. (See ‘Father’.) Many times the *Gospels
record stories that show how Jesus is God. We read that he had all the power
and honour of God. Jesus is called ‘Son of God’ because he never lost his
relationship with God. And he is God in himself. Also, Jesus showed us God
perfectly in his life and in all that he said. And in all that he did.

Son of Man ~ Jesus called himself the ‘Son of Man’. He
also called himself the ‘man that came down from *heaven’. He is God, but he
was born as a human person.

spirit, evil spirit ~ a spirit is alive but we cannot see
it. It does not have a body. But we know that it is there. It is like the wind.
People’s spirits are inside them while they are alive. And their spirits
continue to live after they die. There are spirits that do good things. And
there are spirits that do evil things. We can feel evil spirits but we cannot
see them. They come from the devil. (For God’s Spirit, see *Holy Spirit.)

spit, spat ~ mouth water; to send liquid out of the mouth;
to throw out saliva (water) from the mouth. This often signalled an insult. But
Jesus sometimes used spit to heal people.

synagogue ~ a house in every town or village where *Jews
gather to pray. They also use this house to study the *Scriptures and for other
public meetings.

temple ~ a special house that people built to meet in and
to *worship God. A place that people keep ‘clean’ as their religion demands.
Then it is ready for God to come and meet his people. It is a place where
people keep special furniture for these purposes. The *Jews only had one temple
– the temple that was in Jerusalem city.

vine, vine bushes, vineyard ~ a low tree with long,
spreading branches, which produces groups of sweet fruit (called *grapes). The
field or garden where grape vines grow is called a vineyard.

Way ~ when we believe Jesus’ *message, we do not just
believe words. We have to do what the words say. It is like a road that we must
follow all our life. That is why the first *believers often called it ‘The
Way’.

witch-doctor ~ a person who does magic to hurt other
people. People often pay them to do this. Witch-doctors also try to cure people
who are ill because of magic.

worship ~ when we think about God. We think about what he
is doing. And then we tell him how wonderful he is. We can worship him by
ourselves. Or we can meet with other *believers to worship him. Then we all
together say or sing about how great God is.

yeast ~ a live substance which people mix with wheat flour
to make the flour mixture rise. There was one season every year, when *Jews
only ate unleavened bread. This is bread that has no yeast in it. The word can
also mean the bad effect that something evil can have on us.

Zealot ~ a member of a *Jewish political party. Zealots
helped and encouraged other *Jews to fight against the *Roman government.

Footnotes

[1] sloping writing, writing where the letters slope.

[2] He wanted them to distribute it to other believers who were
in real need.

[3] He pretended that he was giving them all of the money that he
had received for the land.

[4] This translation uses the future tense because the original
passage in Isaiah 53 used a prophetic perfect, a past tense form used to make a
prediction about a certain future event. (Deibler)